


C'est La Mort

by queenannabethwinchester (orphan_account)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Content, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-08-28
Packaged: 2017-12-23 03:03:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/queenannabethwinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a war on earth between angels and demons that humans got involved in. When it was over, both angels and demons were severely weakened from being out of heaven and hell for so long. The humans were furious and captured every angel and demon that they could find to sell them as slaves. Sam and Dean didn’t like this and they grew up hating slavery. Instead of refusing to buy the angels and demons, they decide to rescue as many as they could. The story picks up when they go take a trip to the auction house to rescue another slave and Dean ends up finding a certain blue eyed, dark haired angel that the auction house owner is very reluctant to part with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here's some things you need to know as well as information about the warnings:
> 
> There was a war on earth between angels and demons that humans got involved in. A lot of people/angels/demons died. When it was over, both angels and demons were severely weakened from being out of heaven and hell for so long. The humans were furious and captured every angel and demon that they could find to sell them as slaves.
> 
> Dean and Sam grew up with their father, whose wife was killed by an escaped demon slave. John became angry and built up a fortune capturing and training angels and demons to be sold at auction houses. He eventually began buying his own slaves and treated them very cruelly. Sam and Dean didn’t like this and they grew up hating the whole slave thing.
> 
> Instead of refusing to buy the angels and demons, they decide to rescue as many as they could and keep them to live comfortably at the big house that their father bought to house all of his slaves. No one knows that they do this and they have to keep it a secret so that the angels and demons that they have won’t be taken and sold back into real slavery.
> 
> The story picks up when they go take a trip to the auction house to rescue another slave and Dean ends up finding a certain blue eyed, dark haired angel that the auction house owner is very reluctant to part with.
> 
> Warnings: 
> 
> Violence - There won’t be much violence actually in the fic and if there is, it will be minimal. But there will be mentions of past violence.
> 
> Abuse - Once again, not much abuse in the actual fic but there will be mentions of past physical, emotional, and sexual abuse
> 
> Warnings - mentions of non-con and dub-con situations but they won’t be outright shown; there will also be hints of post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety but they won’t be nearly as fleshed out as they are in my post-season 8 story
> 
> Sexual Content - there will be sexual content later in the story. Anything that is described in detail will be fully consensual without any noncon or dubcon.
> 
> Something to know:
> 
> Angels and demons do exist in this story but not everyone who is canonically an angel/demon will be the same. For instance, Zachariah is featured as a human in the story. I just needed someone who was sleazy and gross and he’s the only character I felt that I could convincingly use that way.

“Dean I’m not sure this is a good idea.” Sam murmured as they walked through the crowd.

The older Winchester sighed but didn’t stop weaving his way around the bodies in between them and the platform that would soon be filled with the product up for auction.

“This was your idea.” He fired back to his younger brother as he shoved his hands in his pockets.  
“That’s not what I mean and you know it. If we keep on doing this as much as we do it, they’re going to start to get suspicious.” Sam hissed quietly.

Dean turned to look at him.

“Sam, they’re not going to get suspicious. They know better than to question anything we do. The one good thing we have left over from Dad’s time in charge is the respect that we have from these dicks. We’re their best customers.”

Sam shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You’ve heard the whispers.” He said in a low voice.

Dean looked around and, as if to support his point, several people looked away from where they were staring at them and speaking under their breath about them.

“Everyone wonders what we’re doing with all of the product we’re buying.” Sam said, ducking his head down so that no one else would hear.

Dean’s eyes flashed up to Sam’s and adopted a glint of anger at the words he used. Sam realized his mistake and put his hands up in surrender.

“Their words, not mine. Dean you know I feel the same way as you but we won’t be useful to anyone if we get in trouble. We agreed when we started this, when I brought this idea to you, that we would be careful about it. This is our third visit this month. They know we don’t need this many.”

Dean stepped away from Sam.

“They think we’re spoiled brats who have nothing better to do with our family money, which is true. If I want another one, I’ll get another one.” He said, his voice level rising so that everyone could hear.

Sam clenched his jaw as he glared at Dean. He knew what his brother was doing. They were already causing a scene so they needed to ensure that everyone had an explanation for it before the auction officials became suspicious.

“We have our hands full with the last few we’ve bought, Dean. You need to get them in order before you get any more.” Sam argued.

As if on cue, the owner of the auction appeared at Dean’s elbow. Zachariah Adler was a greasy, sleazy businessman in every sense of the word. His smile made both brothers cringe internally but they forced returning grins onto their faces.

“How are we today, gentlemen?” Zachariah asked, reaching out a hand to shake Dean’s.

“We’re fine.” Dean said in a clipped tone, sending Sam a warning glare before turning to face Zachariah, blocking the younger brother from the auction owner’s eyesight. “I was wondering if we could take a look at your stock.”

“Already? You were only in last week.” Zachariah said, his eyebrows raising.

Sam sighed heavily as if the man’s words proved his point. Dean shot him a glare over his shoulder.

“Yes, the product we’ve bought this month has proved to be very helpful and efficient. I am having a run of good luck so I wanted to come and see if I could continue that streak with another addition.” Dean lied easily, a charming grin on his face that Zachariah didn’t question for a moment.  
“Of course, Mr. Winchester. We have thirty minutes before the auction begins. I’ll bring you back to look at the product privately. You know we like to give you and your brother first choice.” Zachariah said, gesturing for them to follow him to the side door that led out of the large auction room.

As they were walking down the hallway towards the holding room, Zachariah turned to Sam. He was a smart man and not much escaped his notice, except for the ruse that they forced him to believe, of course. He sensed that Sam was in a sour mood and wanted to cheer him up if it got him more money out of the two brothers.

“How is the product you purchased last month doing? I didn’t have a chance to ask you when you were here last.” He said.

Sam huffed and looked down at him.

“Fine.” He said simply.

“Still a firecracker, I’m sure.” Zachariah said with a grin.

“Yep.” Sam replied.

Dean shot him another look as Zachariah narrowed his eyes and continued down the hall in silence.

“All right, here is our product.” The man opened the door to reveal the room that always gave Dean and Sam shivers down their spines. “Walker, make sure they’re all alert. The Winchesters want to view the goods.”

The guard at the door glared at Dean and Sam. Gordon Walker never liked them and he was always suspicious of their motives when they came, one of the few who didn’t fall for their charms. He pulled his heavy black stick out of the belt around his waist and banged it on the metal table beside him, flipping on the lights to make the room go from dimly lit to bright fluorescent lighting. A few yelps and cries sounded around the room and they heard chains rattling as the inhabitants of the room reacted.

“I’ll show them to you. We had a recent shipment from the training facility in down south so there will be quite a few new faces that you haven’t seen before.” Zachariah said as they began walking along the wall where the angels and demons were waiting to be auctioned off.

Some of them were terrified, they could see that. Others glared back at them, daring them to come any closer. Dean tuned out Zachariah as he chatted on about this one’s ability to cook or this one’s affinity for another skill that would be useful. He had a way of choosing them. He stared straight into their eyes, using his ability to read even the most closed off of creatures. As he was staring at a female angel with golden hair and wings that matched, Dean suddenly felt something. There was someone looking at him, studying him. It was a change from what he was used to. Most of the time the angels and demons wouldn’t look at him until forced to.

His head snapped up and he began searching around for whomever was watching him. His eyes fell on the huddled mass in the corner. Through the raven black wings that were surrounding the angel’s body, he could see a pair of captivating blue eyes staring out at him as well as dark hair that was sticking up in every direction. Zachariah was prattling on about the female angel’s impeccable wings when he noticed that Dean was no longer looking at her. His eyes followed Dean to the mass huddled in the corner and he started forward.

“No, that one is not for sale. He’s just in here for the purpose of keeping the others calm.” He said quickly.

Dean looked at him, noting the hint of panic in his voice.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“That one is mine, my slave. He has a few concentrated abilities as some angels do. Like the redhead you bought from me a few years ago, he can influence those around him. If he wanted, he could stir them up into a frenzy. But he knows better than that.” Zachariah spat the last words out with a warning look at the huddled angel.

Dean didn’t miss the flinch that the words brought out of the creature and his anger spiked.

“With our amount of servants growing, the redhead we bought from you cannot control them all at once. We have had a few problems with keeping them calm.” He lied. “I would like another to help her out.”

Zachariah immediately understood what Dean was saying and another flash of panic went across his face.  
“Mr. Winchester, I am sorry. But he is not for sale and we have no others with that ability available. Perhaps, if you wish, I could look into finding one for you on the market in a nearby auction house.” Zachariah said, pulling on his tie nervously.

Dean looked back at the angel and saw him still peering through the feathers that hid most of his face from view. He stared into the startling eyes and felt himself drawn in, unable to look away.

“I want him. How much?” he said.

“Dean, if Zachariah says he’s not for sale…” Sam said, sensing the auction owner’s panic and not wanting his brother to make a scene.

“I will give you whatever amount you request, Adler. Just give me a number.” Dean snapped impatiently, looking back at the man.

“I believe he said no.” Gordon said, stalking forward with his stick in his hand and a threatening glare leveled at Dean.

“It’s all right, Walker.” Zachariah stopped him.

Dean saw the resignation in his eyes and fought the triumphant grin from his face.

“The Winchesters are our most valuable customers. We would hate to lose their business.” He said, still looking slightly panicked but unwilling to fight with Dean on this. “Let’s retire to my office to discuss the terms of our agreement. I’ll have my workers get the angel ready for you.”

Zachariah turned to walk out.

“Sam’s gonna stick around and make sure that everything is done right.” Dean said, leaving no room for argument.

Sam, who was already giving Dean an exasperated look as if his brother was only proving him right that their business dealings were getting too risky, rolled his eyes but remained behind as Zachariah agreed to let Sam stay.

When they went back to his office, Dean didn’t hesitate to agree to the number that the auction house owner threw out. The memory of the blue eyes stuck in his mind and he couldn’t shake it. As he wrote out the check, he noticed Zachariah fidgeting nervously.

“If you are particularly attached to this angel, I promise he will receive fair treatment at our estate.” Dean assured him.

“No, that is not where my concern lies. This particular angel, he has… difficulties. Certain things that make him somewhat difficult to handle. It’s nothing that I couldn’t do but I am concerned that, with so many slaves on your hands…”

“You don’t need to underestimate my ability to control my slaves.” Dean said, fighting back the wince as he was forced to use the word he hated so much. “I will handle this one as I do all the others.”

Zachariah nodded, swallowing nervously.

“I know, Mr. Winchester. I do not mean to degrade your obvious ability to keep a firm hand over your slaves but… I do want to ensure you that… well if the angel does prove to be too difficult for you to deal with, I promise a full refund of your money if you return him to me since he is my personal slave and was trained by me alone.”

Dean gave the man a tight smile, unwilling to think too hard about what Zachariah meant by training. He’d seen plenty of angels and demons being trained as he grew up and he hated to think of all the creatures that were still being put through that in the world.

“I’m sure he’ll be satisfactory, Mr. Adler. After all, you are the best of the profession.” Dean said, fighting to keep the derision he felt for the man out of his voice.

Zachariah smiled at Dean, accepting his compliment eagerly as he led him out of the office.

\----------

Dean walked out of the auction house, ignoring the jealous looks of the others that must have seen Sam leading his new purchase out of the house. One man stopped him just as he reached the door. Dean immediately recognized him as Walt Simpson, a man who was notorious for abusing his own slaves in sickening ways.

“Dean, I have to give you props. I ain’t never seen an angel so pretty as the one your brother was takin’ out of here.” the man said, grinning at Dean.

The older Winchester stared down at him with an unimpressed look and Walt faltered slightly under his glare.

“All I’m sayin’ is that if you find that you’re in a sharin’ mood, I sure wouldn’t mind takin’ that pretty creature off your hands for a night or two.” Walt offered, still grinning.

Zachariah was watching the exchange so Dean couldn’t outright threaten the man with death if he ever came near one of the angels or demons that lived at his house. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at the man.

“I prefer my slaves to be unsullied by filth like you.” he said simply, calming his anger with a smirk before turning to walk out.

When he went outside, Sam was standing by the car. The angel was next to him slumped over with his head bowed. He was tall, taller than most angels. But he didn’t reach the intimidating heights of the Winchester brothers. His dark hair was as messy as Dean saw earlier and his large black wings were folded against his back, the tips brushing the ground. They were dirty, Dean could see that much. He knew that they should gleam brightly in the sun from the other angels they had but instead they were covered in dirt and dust.

“Is he cooperating?” Dean asked, the question a code for him to ask Sam whether or not the angel was okay or if he needed medical attention when they got back to the house.

“He’s been good so far.” Sam said, turning to look at them. “We’ll have to see how he acts when we have him at the house.”

That meant that Sam couldn’t see any outright injuries but that the angel should still be checked up on when they got back. Dean nodded and turned to Zachariah.

“It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Winchester.” The auction house owner said, his eyes darting nervously from the angel back to Dean.

“You’ve been welcoming, as always.” Dean said simply, shaking his hand.

“Just… remember what I said about the refund. There would be no need to send him to the training center. I’ll take him back.” Zachariah assured him.

Dean squinted slightly but nodded slowly as he pulled his hand away.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Mr. Adler.” He said, knowing full well that he would never send an angel or demon back to the auction house no matter how bad they were.

Zachariah nodded and turned to walk away since he still had an auction to start. Dean looked at Sam with raised eyebrows.

“Still think this was a bad idea?” he asked.

“Let’s just get him home. He’s shaking so badly I had to force Gordon to take off the chains before they drove me insane. He needs a bath… and better clothing.” Sam said, frowning at the dirty knee-length toga that the angel was wearing.

Dean grimaced, moving around Sam to look at the angel. His wings lifted automatically to cover his face as if he was afraid to look at Dean. It was an automatic reaction with the trained angels and demons to never look their owners in the eye unless told specifically to do so.

“Let me see you.” Dean said as gently as he could.

The angel quivered for a moment before lowering his wing and shuffling around to face Dean. The man held back the startled gasp when he finally looked at the angel full in the face. He was beautiful. They all were, even the demons. It was another part of the reason why they were sold. They were all fixed so that their intense mating practices were eradicated but that didn’t diminish their beauty. Dean thought that he’d seen it all and was able to block out his natural reaction to the beauty of the angels. But this was different, he was more affected than he’d been in years. The angel’s skin was pale and sickly-looking, most likely from being kept indoors by Zachariah.

His blue eyes were even more entrancing up close. They were wide and fearful, understandingly so for the situation that he was in. His lips were full and light pink but chapped and cracked in some places. The toga he was wearing mostly hid his torso but Dean could see that he was thin yet not wiry by any means. Angels were still warriors even in their weakened states and their bodies mostly reflected that. As his eyes traveled over the creature’s body, Sam shifted next to him and cleared his throat. Dean’s head snapped up and he saw that the angel was still staring at him.

“Let’s get home.” he said, his voice rougher than he meant it to be as he turned away from the angel and his brother.

\----------

When they got to the Winchester manor, a line of people were waiting for them, as they always were when the brothers went to the auction house. Dean sighed glancing in the rearview mirror of his Impala to see the angel sitting there with his wings wrapped around him comfortingly and his eyes staring out of the window, wide and panicked.

“Do they ever think that maybe it’s not the greatest idea to form a receiving line for the traumatized angels and demons?” Dean muttered as he put the car into park and opened the door.

“Probably not.” Sam said. “Or they don’t care.”

They climbed out and Sam walked around to stand next to Dean.

“He’s a skittish one, guys. Don’t terrify him… more than he already is.” The older brother lectured the gathering of people before he opened the door to the back.

Nothing happened and he sighed, ducking down to peek on.

“Come on, no one is going to bite. They just wanna see you is all.” He tried to assure the angel, wanting to let him know immediately that this was not a slave home.

The angel stared back at him for a moment. Then, ever so slowly, he shifted over on the seat to climb out. When he was fully standing, his wings pulled away and he folded them behind his back. A gasp sounded and Dean looked to see Jess, Sam’s wife, step forward with one hand over her mouth.

“Do you recognize him?” he asked as Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“No he’s just… he’s beautiful.” she marveled, studying him with an amazed look.

The angel’s eyes were lowered to the ground and they knew that it was out of respect for the humans that he was around. It was what he was taught and somehow, Dean knew that it would be tough to get him out of that mindset because he’d seen how Zachariah treated some of the angels and demons that came through his auction house.

“Anna.” Dean said.

The redheaded angel stepped out from behind Jess, her white wings gleaming in the sunlight and a tender look on her face as she took in the new angel.

“Can you take him and check up on him? We’re not sure what state he’s in because you know Zachariah won’t let us check him out at the auction house. Also, he’s like you. He can influence others. Make sure he knows how to handle that around here.” Dean said.

Anna nodded and moved forward, stepping up to look into the other angel’s eyes.

“He looks a little pale. He’s probably hungry and he’ll need to be brought food.” Anna said as she inspected him right where they stood.

“I’ll bring some to you, Anna. Just get him inside and maybe let him take a bath.” Jess offered.

The redhead nodded and turned to Dean.

“His wings will need to be groomed too. Send Meg to do it, she’s best at it.”

Dean nodded and looked at the angel as Anna turned back to him. He was finally looking up at them, shock clear on his face as he listened to their conversation. Dean was used to it. All of the angels and demons were taken aback by the casual way in which the others conversed with the humans when they first came to the house. They sometimes got used to it quickly but some of them would take longer to warm to the humans. Anna was one of the first angels they rescued and she was the most comfortable with speaking plainly with Sam, Dean, and Jess.

Anna reached out towards the angel, offering him her hand. He hesitated, looking up at Dean, who sighed heavily. That was one of the things he hated about the first few days, weeks, or months of having a new angel or demon at the house. They would often see him as their new master since he was older and more rugged than Sam.

“You can take it if you want to take it.” he said.

The angel looked confused at that and he looked back at Anna for help. She nodded encouragingly at him and he tentatively reached out to take her hand.

“He’s going to take a while to get used to that, I can already tell.” She said knowingly, looking over the dark-haired angel with searching eyes. “What is his name?”

Dean balked, turning to Sam for help, who shrugged. He looked back at Anna who was watching him for an answer to her question.

“Zachariah never told us, I have no clue.” He said.

“Did you think of asking him?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Do you think he would tell us?” Dean fired back, annoyance in his voice.

As if to prove his point, the angel flinched away at his tone and Dean sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead with one hand.

“I’ll find out.” Anna volunteered before she turned to steer the angel into the house.

When they were gone, Dean turned to the rest of the people who were watching them go curiously.

“Inias.” He said.

The angel with light grey wings stepped forward, smiling at Dean as he waited for instruction. The angels and demons were never treated like slaves in the house but several of them wanted to help out where they could, including Anna and Inias.

“Please go and find Meg and take her to Anna’s room, where I’m guessing she has him. Tell her to be gentle, I don’t want her scaring the guy too much.”

Inias nodded and turned to walk into the house as the rest watched him to see what they would do.

“Rachel, could you go fix up a room for the new angel?” Sam suggested of the blonde woman with golden wings standing closest to Jess.

She looked at Jess for confirmation before walking off. Rachel immediately attached to Jess as soon as she was brought to the house, helping the youngest Winchester’s wife with whatever she needed.

“Guy.” Dean said, stepping forward to walk to the house.

The dark-skinned demon grinned at him, flashing his black eyes at Dean as he blinked.

“Yeah yeah, no one’s impressed. Put ‘em away.” He grumbled, slipping off his jacket as they walked inside.

“What can I do for you boss?” Guy asked as they walked through the entry way and back towards Dean’s room.

“Just go hang out with Anna and let me know when they’re done with the new guy.” He said, walking into his room and kicking off his boots as he went.

“With Meg?” Guy whined, leaning against the doorway.

“Yeah, with Meg. Grow a pair and go.” Dean said, laughing as Guy grimaced and turned to walk off.

\----------

It was an hour and a half later that Dean was finally fetched by Guy. Sam was waiting for him at Anna’s room. When he walked in, he immediately caught sight of the redhead angel sitting on the bed next to the new angel. Dean almost didn’t recognize him even from the back as his wings were completely different. Instead of dirty and matted, they shone brightly even in the dimly light of the bedroom. The black feathers all gleamed proudly.

“Didn’t I do a good job making Clarence shine?” Meg said, standing next to Dean and swinging her dark hair over her shoulder.

She grinned up at Dean as he frowned down at her.

“Clarence?” he questioned. “Please tell me that’s a reference and not the poor guy’s name.”

Meg simply laughed and shrugged. Dean took in the fact that the angel was still wearing the dirty toga that was the wardrobe of most slaves despite his obviously wet hair that was sticking up everywhere. They allowed the angels and demons to wear whatever they wanted at the house, giving them freedom in everything.

“He wouldn’t let us take it. I think it makes him feel safe or whatever. He insisted on wearing it.” Meg explained when she saw Dean’s questioning look.

“He talked?” he asked, surprised.

Meg shook her head.

“The only time he spoke was to whisper his name in Enochian to Anna. The rest of the time he just stared at us with those big blue eyes. I’ll tell you, I think he can get away with anything if he just turns those pleading orbs on you. Best be careful, Dean. You’re a sucker for the puppy dog look.” the demon warned him with a smirk.

Dean scoffed but didn’t deny her words. Meg laughed and turned to strut out of the room, winking at Guy who glared at her as she passed. Anna looked up at Dean from where she was sitting and she smiled, tilting her head to get him to come over. Dean moved to stand in front of them and Anna reached out to touch the angel’s hand, getting him to look up. His eyes widened when he looked up at Dean and he made to stand or even possibly kneel at the sight of him. Anna tightened her hold on his hand.

“Remember what I told you.” she said softly.

The angel remained where he was sitting and Dean remained quiet, watching their exchange. Jess and Sam hovered at the door, their arms wrapped around each other and Jess’s head resting on Sam’s shoulder.

“This is not your master or anything like it. He’s your friend.” Anna said slowly as if she was repeating something she already told the other angel.

He stared up at Dean as if he was waiting for him to counteract what Anna was saying or possibly lash out over her words. Dean simply sat back on a chair that was sitting beside the bed and nodded at Anna to continue.

“You aren’t a slave, not anymore. You’re equals among all of us and you won’t be expected to do anything you don’t want to. If you want to help out around the house like some of us do, you are welcome to do that. If you want to sit around all day in the common room that we’ll show you later, you can do that too. Think of this as your home, not a place that you serve.” Anna said.

The angel didn’t take his eyes off of Dean throughout her speech. He was waiting for a change in the human, anything that told him that this was all a trick and that he would be punished any moment for having a spark of hope that it might be true.

“Now, I think it’s about time you got formally introduced to your friends here.” Anna turned to Dean.

“Castiel, this is Dean Winchester. Dean, this is Castiel.”

Dean turned the name over in his mind, considering it as he looked upon the angel before him. It took him only moments to decide that the name suited him perfectly.

“Nice to meet you, Castiel.” He said, smiling slightly.

The angel looked at him with surprise but Anna turned his attention away before anything else could be said.

“Over there is Sam and Jess Winchester. They’re married. Sam and Dean are brothers. Sam and Jess are your friends too. You don’t bow or kneel to them. You look them in the eye just like they’re your equals, because they are.” Anna instructed him.

“Hi Castiel.” Jess said, grinning at him with sparkling eyes.

“Hey Castiel.” Sam nodded at him with a warm smile.

Before anything else could be said or done, Rachel peeked into the doorway.

“I’m done.” She announced.

Dean stood and didn’t miss the slight flinch of the dark-haired angel as he lowered his head automatically.

“Castiel.” He said, waiting until he looked up at him.

“Why don’t you come with me? I got something to show you.”

Castiel looked slightly fearful but true to his training that Dean vowed to counteract with every action and reassurance he possibly could, he followed Dean out of the room. Anna moved to follow them but Sam stopped her, citing that Castiel needed to learn to trust Dean rather than to obey him blindly because he was afraid.

When they made it to the doorway that Rachel pointed them to, Dean turned to Castiel.

“If there’s anything you want changed or different, let us know, all right? Anna and Jess do all the rooms the same at first but we can change anything you want if it’s not to your liking.” Dean said, stressing that Castiel had a choice even in what his room looked like.

The angel looked confused, his brow furrowing slightly.

“Come on.” Dean tilted his head for him to walk inside as he opened the door.

Castiel did so after a moment of hesitation. His eyes widened even further as he took in the room. He walked to the bed and stood beside it for a moment before turning in circles to look at every inch of the space that he could. When he looked back at Dean, his eyes were questioning yet the human could see a hint of hope in his eyes.

“It’s all yours.” He said, nodding with a slight smile.

Castiel’s shoulders and wings relaxed, tension draining out of his whole body. Dean watched as the angel began looking around the entire room, even sniffing things and opening drawers and cabinets. When he discovered the attached bathroom, he made sure to switch on every faucet and even flushed the toilet, jumping back with his wings fluttering in surprise at the loud noise it made. Dean let out a choked laugh and Castiel swiveled around to look at him with a guarded expression. When he saw the grin on Dean’s face and the crinkle of his eyes at the corner, he relaxed once again and continued his exploration of the room.

\----------

For two weeks everything went well. As well as they could have hoped, at least. Castiel still didn’t speak, not even to Anna. Some of the other angels went to him and introduced themselves. At first, he was terrified of the demons as much as he was the humans but after Meg groomed his wings every few days, he quickly grew more comfortable with them. In the common room, he would sit with the other angels and often listen to their conversations. Sometimes he would also follow behind Anna as she walked through the large house doing different things. Then, on a few occasions, he’d even followed Dean around curiously, keeping his distance but still trailing behind him.

Anna came to Dean after a week and a half and told him that Castiel was doing better but he still needed to get healthier. She recommended that he spent time outside. So one day, Dean decided that he would take the angel out to the forest and even to the lake so that he could wander around. He went to the common area where they all gathered after breakfast to find Castiel. That was when he realized that something was very wrong. All of the angels and demons were on one side of the room pointedly facing away from the other side with very uncomfortable expressions. Even Anna was sitting there fidgeting uncomfortably with wide eyes and a frown that replaced her usual soft smile.

Dean looked around and saw Castiel clear on the other side of the room huddled into a corner with his wings wrapped around himself just like he’d been on the day that Dean rescued him from Zachariah. Dean furrowed his brow and turned to the angels and demons, who all looked slightly guilty under his questioning look. He walked to them and Anna stood, knowing that she would have to speak to Dean about the strange scene he walked in on.

“What’s going on?” he asked immediately, steering her away from the other angels and demons as they squirmed uncomfortably.

“It’s… it’s Castiel. None of them… us… can be too close to him.” Anna said hesitantly, her eyes flashing over to where the dark-haired angel was cowering.

She looked sad and remorseful for whatever reason was keeping them away from him.

“What the hell do you mean?” Dean demanded, confused and a little annoyed by their behavior that had Castiel so obviously separated from them.

Anna looked at him strangely, squinting.

“You don’t smell it.” she realized. “Of course, your nose isn’t as sensitive.”

“Smell what? What are you talking about?”

Anna looked at him with hesitation and, for the first time in years, a hint of fear in her eyes. That had Dean even more alert for the reason behind the strange behavior around him.

“Anna, tell me what’s going on.” he said calmly, not wanting to make a scene in front of the angels and demons that all still had terrible memories of their former masters and where their anger was usually directed.

“We’re just trying to protect him, Dean.” She said softly, looking at him pleadingly.

Dean crossed his arms over his chest, clenching his fists where they were hidden.

“Protect him from what?”

He was getting frustrated with her avoidance of the issue but he refused to take it out on her. He wasn’t going to be his father no matter how exasperating the angels and demons were to deal with sometimes.

“Dean, please. It’s not… it’s only every few months. We can deal with it and protect him.” Anna promised him.

Dean sighed heavily and leaned his head back, staring at the tall ceiling for a moment.

“Anna if you don’t tell me, I’m going to ask every single other angel and demon in this room and then I’m going to ask Castiel what the hell is going on. I think you would rather tell me now than have all of that happen. I’m trying not to get angry here but you are being very difficult.” He said.

She bit her lip and looked like she might cry for a moment.

“He’s in heat.”

Dean found himself taken aback by her statement. At first, he had no idea how to respond. He turned it over in his head, considering exactly what it meant. When he finally realized what she was talking about, he turned to look at Castiel who was making himself look as small as possible as if he knew exactly what Dean and Anna were talking about.

“How is that possible? The training… don’t all of you get that taken away?” he asked, unable to be gentle about it with the shock that was filling him over the news.

“Yes, but you told me that Castiel was privately trained. It-it doesn’t happen a lot but sometimes… very rarely… th-the master will refuse to do that. If… if he wants to take advantage of the cycles.” Anna stammered her way through the explanation, looking out of sorts for the first time in years.

Dean instantly realized what she was talking about and suddenly everything made sense. Zachariah’s hesitation in selling Castiel to him. His reassurance that Dean didn’t have to return him to the training center and turn Zachariah in for the illegal practice of allowing the angel to experience the heat cycles for his own pleasure, that he could bring Castiel back whenever he wanted for a full refund.

“Son of a bitch.” He said, turning away from Anna as he rubbed a hand down his face.

“Dean, we can deal with it. It still affects us but we can avoid him. We can protect him like that. You don’t have to give him back to the training centers. We’ll make sure that nothing happens. Please…” Anna begged, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Dean turned to her with a furrowed brow and a confused look. When he looked past her, the demons and angels were all staring at him, each of them with concerned looks. It was then that he realized that Castiel, despite never speaking and simply sitting there watching everyone, managed to charm them all with his big blue eyes and dirty toga that he refused to take off except when he was in the bath and Jess or Anna managed to take it away to wash it for him.

“Cas isn’t going anywhere.” He said, the nickname coming out of his mouth before he could help it.

He’d been calling the angel Cas in his head, quickly realizing that Castiel was a mouthful, but he hadn’t said it out loud yet. Anna looked surprised by the nickname but relieved by his statement.

“Thank you, Dean.” She sighed, pulling him into a hug and putting her head against his chest.

When she pulled away, Dean turned to glance at Cas.

“I’m gonna go talk to him.” he decided.

“No Dean wait, you’re going to be affected too. You can’t smell it now but I promise you’ll find it really hard to ignore.” Anna said, trying to stop him.

“I’ll be fine.” Dean shrugged her off and slowly made his way to the other side of the room.

Despite his confidence, he still heeded Anna’s warning. He found himself holding his breath as he approached the cowering angel. When he was about five feet away, Cas’s head snapped up and he turned the full force of his wide blue eyes on him. That was enough to force the air out of Dean’s lungs and he immediately inhaled sharply to draw it back in. That was when it hit him.

The smell was overpowering and too much for him to handle. Blood immediately rushed to an entirely different place rather than his brain and he staggered with the force of his lustful reaction. The smell was hard to describe, petrichor and wind, lavender and somehow, the color red. And sex, it smelled like sex causing Dean to close his eyes, inhaling the scent eagerly as his pants tightened considerably.

When his eyes opened, he saw that Castiel’s wings dropped from where they were protecting his body. He was staring at Dean’s arousal with a resigned expression in his eyes. Dean watched with shock as he turned around, spreading his wings out flat to where they fell over the ground. The toga hitched up around his hips, showing Dean that he wasn’t wearing any underwear at all. The human choked on the breath he was taking and that seemed to snap him out of the trance that Cas’s scent put him under.

“Cas, what are you…” Dean whispered, uncertain of whether the angel could even hear him.

Castiel braced his head against the wall, his eyes squeezed closed as he waited for whatever he thought that Dean was going to do to him. Dean had a pretty good idea of what he was expecting and the idea sickened him. The more he learned that day, the more he wanted to throttle Zachariah the next time he saw him.

“You don’t have to… that’s not…” he didn’t know how to convince Castiel to stop presenting himself in such a provocative way.

Without thinking, Dean moved forward and reached out, intent on seizing Cas and bringing him back to a non-kneeling position. When his hands fell on the angel’s hips, Castiel let out a surprised yelp. The next thing Dean knew, one of Castiel’s wings snapped back and slammed across his face, forcing him to fall backwards with a yell of pain as he heard a definite crunch. His eyes flashed with blinding pain as he put his hand to his nose and felt blood coming out.

“Son of a…” he cursed under his breath, blinking the stinging tears out of his eyes that came with the pain.

He heard someone running up behind him and Anna was suddenly standing beside him.

“Oh my… your nose!” she cried, seeing the blood leaking out of it.

“Nah, it’s just a… nosebleed.” Dean said, wincing as her fingers prodded at his face.

He tilted his head forward and immediately caught sight of Castiel staring up at them from where he was kneeling on the ground with wide eyes and a trembling lip. When he noticed Dean looking at him, his head bowed and the human could have sworn he saw a tear fall from his eye onto the floor.

“Cas… Castiel…” Dean said, starting forward to reassure the angel that he wasn’t angry, that he knew he scared him.

Slowly, he watched as Castiel extended one of his wings fully, his hands clenched in his lap and his entire body shaking violently.

“What… what are you…?” Dean watched with confusion.

When he turned to look at Anna for help, he saw her hands clapped over her mouth and tears brimming in her eyes.

“What’s happening?” he questioned.

She let out a whimper and shook her head.

“You wouldn’t know… w-with the masters and at the t-training centers, if we hurt any human by accident or on… on purpose… we would be punished in kind.” She stammered, looking horrified as she watched Castiel. “We were trained to present our wing and… and…”

She broke off in a sob and shook her head.

“Anna… what would they do?” Dean asked, ignoring his pain as his own eyes widened with the idea he was almost certain he knew the punishment that the angels had to suffer.

“They would br-break one of our wings. With our sped-up healing it would only take a-a day to heal but… it’s the worst pain an angel can experience. It’s like someone is ripping one of our arms or legs off. It’s horrible and… that’s what he expects you to do.” She wailed, turning and burying her head in Dean’s chest as she sobbed.

Dean heard running behind him and looked to see Sam and Jess hurrying towards them, Meg by the door from where she’d gone to fetch them.

“Dean, what the hell happened?” Sam said when he saw Dean’s swelling and bleeding nose.

“It’s not important, Sammy.” Dean sighed, gently, transferring Anna into his brother’s arms in the interest of taking care of the other angel.

He slowly knelt in front of Castiel, reaching out. The angel flinched but didn’t move, waiting for Dean to hurt him.

“Castiel…” he said, putting his hands on his shoulders.

The angel looked up at him, tears running down his cheeks as he shook underneath his touch.

“You can lower your wing, I’m not going to touch it. I will never do that to you.” he promised, staring Cas deep in his fearful eyes.

Castiel looked back, searching Dean’s gaze for any sign of deceit. One of his hands drifted down and he began pulling his toga up his leg where it fell back down. Dean’s hand immediately caught his.

“No, not that either. I will not force you into anything, Cas. I promise… you are free here. You will never be forced into anything ever again.” He vowed.

The angel watched him warily. Slowly, one of his hands lifted and he touched his fingertips every so lightly to Dean’s nose. He winced slightly but didn’t move other than that. Suddenly he felt a warm feeling spreading through his nose and his face. He heard Anna gasp behind him but he remained still. When Castiel pulled his hand away, there was no more pain in his nose. He lifted his hand to prod at it and fell nothing, no swelling or bruising.

“What the… did you just… heal me?” Dean asked, shocked.

Cas nodded slowly, looking like he was still waiting for a negative reaction from the human.

“Damn, Cas… that’s awesome.” He said, breathing out a smile.

He felt a presence beside him and saw Anna there, tear tracks still on her face but a smile on her lips once again. For some reason, neither of them were finding that they were affected by Cas’s scent for the moment. Sam and Jess looked a little dazed as they backed away slowly.

“He just healed you. That’s amazing. Most angels… well almost all angels can’t heal others anymore. He’s the first that I’ve met in so many years.” Anna marveled, grinning at Cas.

He stared back at them with an innocent gaze, looking like he had no idea what was going on. Dean let out a laugh and stood.

“Come on, Cas.” He said.

The angel looked up at him with hesitation.

“We’re gonna go out to the woods, get you some fresh air. Maybe you’ll tan a little and your skin won’t be so white.” He said, holding his hand out to Cas.

He knew that it would take a leap, that Castiel would have to really trust him to willingly give his hand to Dean. He didn’t want to call it a test, it was simply a curiosity and he wanted to see whether the angel would do it or not. Castiel watched him as he slowly lifted his hand and placed it in Dean’s. The human grinned down at him and helped him to a standing position.

“But first… we are going to do something about that toga. You are going commando under there and we have delicate eyes around here. I don’t want Samantha over there seeing your twig and berries if you know what I mean.”

Castiel stared at him with a tilted head and a furrowed brow as Anna giggled behind her hand.

“Of course you don’t.” Dean sighed, tugging him towards the exit of the room.

\----------

Dean was walking ahead of Cas ducking around the branches that stuck out. The angel trailed behind him. He was wearing a pair of Dean’s jeans and boots as well as a shirt from Inias that allowed for his wings.

“I’m taking you to a place that I always went to as a kid. I haven’t been there in years so it might look completely different.” Dean explained, glancing over his shoulder to see Castiel staring around at everything.

He found himself staring at the angel’s beautiful and amazed face. When he stumbled over a tree root, he turned to brace himself before he hit the ground. Suddenly two arms encircled his waist and pulled him up with strength that surprised Dean. He turned slowly as Castiel let go of him.

“Thanks, Cas.” He said as the angel looked up at him.

Castiel nodded and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He reached out and grabbed Dean’s hand, pulling him forward to continue walking through the forest. The next noise that Dean heard between the sound of birds and their feet snapping twigs almost caused him to have a heart attack. He was used to being the only voice he heard when he was around Castiel.

“Cas.” The angel said, his voice low and gravelly as he stared out into the distance at the trees ahead of them.

Dean stopped short and stared at him with wide eyes. Cas turned to look at him with a patient expression, blinking at him questioningly.

“I like it.” Castiel decided.

Dean let a slow smile spread across his face.

“Good.” He said, nodding as he squeezed Cas’s hand lightly. “I do too.”

They walked through the forest in silence until they came to the intended destination. Dean let go of Cas’s hand to jog out into the middle of the clearing with a creek that ran through the edge. He grinned widely as he dropped onto a boulder that he always used to perch on when he was younger. He picked up a rock and tossed it into the creek, the _plop_ noise that it made causing him to chuckle. He turned to see what Cas doing and his heart skipped a beat when he caught sight of the scene.

Cas was standing in the middle of the clearing. His face was turned towards the bright blue sky and sunlight streamed through the trees, illuminating him. His wings lifted slowly, spreading out fully and his feathers fluttered. A bird took that moment to lift off from a tree, chattering noisily as its wings lifted it into the air. Cas watched it go with a fond expression. Dean watched with wide eyes as he bent his knees and his wings began beating through the air. Suddenly he was lifted into the air and a huge smile broke out on his face as he floated higher, his wings beating furiously to lift him up. He made it to the tops of the trees before he spread his wings out and careened down.

Dean leapt up when Cas tumbled into the grass in a flurry of feathers and limbs. He ran over and scrambled past the wings to get a good look at him.

“Cas? Cas are you okay?” he demanded.

The wings moved to reveal his face that was still stretched into a smile with his eyes lit up happily.

“Thank you, Dean.” He said simply, reaching out to take the human’s hand.

Dean smiled back, sitting down as he simply held the angel’s hand and they relaxed in the clearing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean confronts Zachariah and Cas gets into trouble on a trip to town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There will be a non-con scene in this chapter, just to warn you. It’s a very small part of the chapter but it’s still there.

Dean stepped out of the car, ignoring the looks he got from the people passing. The Impala was as recognizable as he and Sam. The fact that he was wearing a suit for once probably aided in the gawking. Mostly everyone saw him in jeans and flannel shirts. He kept his face emotionless as he walked up to the auction house. He buttoned his suit jacket before pulling the door open and walking inside the big empty room.

“Winchester.” A voice said from his left.

He turned to see Gordon walking towards him with a glare.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to see your boss so I don’t have time to deal with you, sweetheart.” Dean answered, patting his arm before moving past him.

Gordon grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around.

“If you think…”

He was cut off by Dean’s fist flying across his face. Gordon grunted and staggered backwards. Dean took that chance to drive his fist into the guard’s stomach, causing him to double over. Then he grabbed his head and drove his knee up into his face, effectively knocking him out cold. Gordon laid out on the ground and Dean huffed, straightening his suit before turning. Zachariah was standing at the door watching the scene with obvious panic that he was doing horribly at keeping hidden.

“You and I need to talk.” Dean said, walking towards him.

\----------

_Dean darted through the trees, chasing the laughing female ahead of him. He crashed through the branches, not caring if they slapped him in the face. She was better about it, ducking them and ensuring that they didn’t become snagged in her dark brown wings that matched her gleaming hair._

_“Wait!” Dean called, slowing down as he sucked in air._

_She let out a peal of laughter and turned, skipping to him and throwing herself in his arms._

_“Slow poke.” Lisa taunted, grinning at him._

_He laughed and pulled her in, pressing his lips to hers._

_“Nah, I just wanted to hold you now.” He said, pulling her down on the ground with him._

_“I can’t stay out long, Dean. You know what would happen if I was back at the house after dark.” Lisa reminded him._

_His gaze darkened slightly and he turned his head away at the reminder of his father’s wrath towards disobeying angels._

_“I know.”_

\----------

“Mr. Winchester, wh-what are you doing here?” Zachariah asked as they walked into his office.

“Oh I think you know full well why I’m here. You know I could have you imprisoned right? My brother is a lawyer, he ensures me that I could even get compensation without having to give Castiel back to you simply for the distress that his condition caused my household.” Dean said, leaning back against the desk as Zachariah hovered by the door.

He hated speaking those words because Castiel’s condition in no way bothered him other than his concern for the dark-haired angel’s safety around those who had a hard time controlling themselves. But he had to threaten the auction house owner in order to get what he wanted.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Winchester. I should have informed you of his condition earlier but I wasn’t sure how you would react. I am sure that you can imagine that I was afraid.”

“You should have been afraid, Mr. Adler. You broke several laws.” Dean agreed.

“Yes but… surely you must understand. I saw the way you looked at Castiel. And how you must have felt around him, and when you gave in… surely you must have understood why I did it. When I first got him I thought that he’d been fixed but then he went into heat the first time and… I couldn’t bring myself to do anything about it. I was weak, I couldn’t help myself.” Zachariah said pleadingly.

Dean snorted with derision, his anger spiking at the other man’s assumption that he was so monstrous that he would force Castiel into anything like that.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, Mr. Adler.” He scoffed.

Zachariah moved forward, holding his hands up in surrender.

“What do you want, Mr. Winchester? I’ll do anything. Please those prisons are horrible.”

Dean narrowed his eyes at the man, the words forming on his tongue as he remembered when he’d first formed this plan, though back then it had been a much different dark-haired angel that he wanted to save.

\----------

_“Tell me more about them.” Dean said as they sat on the grass across from each other._

_Lisa smiled as she played with his fingers._

_“They were beautiful. I know that you humans think that us angels and demons are the most beautiful creatures but imagine a hundred times more… no, a thousand times more beautiful. It wasn’t just their faces. It was their light, their grace. They were far more glorious than the rest of us ever have a chance of being.” She explained._

_Dean scoffed, shaking his head._

_“I don’t believe that anyone can be more beautiful than you. You shine brighter than all of the stars and the moon.” He said, reaching out to stroke her cheek._

_Lisa gave him a tongue-poking-out grin._

_“You need to stop reading your brother’s poetry. I prefer it when you’re telling me how much you love me.” she said, poking his stomach._

_“I do love you.” Dean sighed, pulling her in and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “Forever.”_

_“Careful, Mr. Winchester. You’re only seventeen and forever is an awfully big promise to make to an immortal being.” Lisa said, her cheeks flushing with happiness._

_“I mean it.” Dean said seriously._

_Lisa leaned in and kissed him passionately before pulling away._

_“I love you too.” She murmured._

_Lisa turned and laid down with her head on his lap with her wings spread out on the grass. She watched the sky as the clouds drifted over them._

_“Where did they go?” Dean asked._

_The angel sighed as he ran his fingers through her silky hair._

_“The war was going on, it was horrible. So bloody with so much death. The humans grew tired of it. The archangels were the only ones who weren’t weakened by separation from heaven. The humans knew that to end the war, they had to get rid of the archangels. Unfortunately, they had no weapons to kill them. The only weapon that could kill an archangel was an archangel’s blade and no one had ever succeeded in doing so, not even another angel. So they went a different route. They trapped them somewhere using a spell that they got from a traitor, an angel that went to their side and told them what to do. Metatron was the angel’s name. He was angry with the archangels for pulling everyone out of heaven to fight the war. He wasn’t a fighter, he was a scribe. So they did it, trapped the archangels. Without them, it was easy for the war to be ended and the angels and demons to be overpowered. Now, with all that’s going on… even the demons pray for the archangels to return and raise us from this hell.”_

_Dean let the story sink into his mind._

_“What happened to Metatron?” he asked._

_“The same thing that happened to the rest of us, as far as I know. He didn’t get any special favors just for defecting to the human side.” Lisa answered._

_He sighed and looked up at the sky._

_“Maybe they will return one day. Maybe we’ll get a chance to be normal, to be free.” Dean said, wishing more than anything that could happen._

_“I hope so.” Lisa murmured._

_Suddenly they heard crashing and they both leapt up, staring with shock and panic as three men came stomping into the clearing. The one in the middle glared them down as he stalked forward. Dean gulped as he looked upon his father’s angry face._

_“So this is where you’ve been disappearing off to… with a winged bitch!” John growled, the blade in his hand glinting in the sunlight._

_“Dad, no… I made her come here.” Dean said, starting forward protectively._

_The older Winchester scoffed._

_“You’re lying, Dean. You know how I know? Because I heard everything you said.” he spat._

_Dean felt his heart pounding and he began backing away, placing himself in front of Lisa._

_“Lis… you have to run.” He murmured._

_“No, Dean I can’t.” she said, fear plain in her voice._

_“Lisa go, now! Run!” he shoved her towards the treeline behind them._

_John let out a cold laugh and Lisa screamed behind him. Dean whirled around to see her being held down by two of his father’s henchmen. Suddenly he was seized by his father’s strong grip and dragged backwards._

_“No! No!” he fought against John’s hold to no avail._

_“Take care of her.”_

_That was his father’s last order as he dragged Dean away from the clearing._

_“Dean!” Lisa screamed._

_“Lisa!” he shouted back as he lost sight of her, unable to get back to her despite his kicking and struggling._

_John threw him against a tree and suddenly his fist connected with his face._

_“You are weak and pathetic!” he shouted over Lisa’s screams._

_“Lisa!” Dean tried to rush past him despite the blood filling his mouth._

_John caught him and shoved him against the tree again with his hand around his neck._

_“Dean!” Lisa screamed one last time before there was silence and a flash of bright light in the distance._

_Dean knew what the bright light meant, he’d seen it when his father forced him to watch as he dealt with an unruly angel a few years ago._

_“No!” he wailed, tears streaming down his face._

\----------

“You’ll do anything?” Dean questioned as he fought to bury the memory at the back of his mind again.

“Yes, anything.” Zachariah nodded. “Just tell me what you want, Mr. Winchester. Please.”

Dean sighed, pushing himself up to a fully standing position.

“You’re going to help me find the archangels.”

\----------

Dean drove up to the house, his eyes darting around searchingly. A small smile formed on his face when he saw the figure perched in an open window two stories up watching the driveway. The large black wings unfolded as Dean parked the Impala.

He watched with wonder as Castiel leapt from the window and landed easily on the ground in front of the car in a crouching position. Dean got out and shut his door as Cas straightened up and folded his wings back.

“You’re lucky you landed there. If you landed on the Impala… well, I might have to banish you to the forest.” He said, grinning at the angel.

Cas looked fearful for half a second before he realized that Dean was joking and his body relaxed.

“I was very careful to avoid your precious vehicle.” He said solemnly with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Dean guffawed and fell into step with Castiel. Suddenly the angel froze and all of his momentary good humor faded as he inhaled sharply. He stepped away from Dean.

“What is it, Cas?” he asked, confused.

The angel didn’t speak but Dean saw that his hands were shaking.

“Cas?” Dean stepped closer to him but he stepped away.

“You were with him.” Castiel choked out before he turned and ran away as quickly as he could, disappearing into the house.

Dean was frozen in place just as Cas had been a few moments ago. He knew who the angel had to be talking about. He must have smelled the auction house or Zachariah on him.

“Cas…” he murmured, looking up at the open front door. “Cas, no!”

He finally got his legs working and he bolted after the angel. Just as he ran into the entryway, he skidded to a stop before he ran over Jess.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking at him with concern.

“Did you see Cas come through here?” he asked quickly.

“Yeah… he ran up the stairs. Dean what happened?” she asked as he rushed past her.

“I can’t talk, I’ll tell you later!” Dean threw over his shoulder as he leapt up the stairs towards the second level.

He looked back and forth before catching sight of one of their newer demons who’d been with them for two and a half months. Ruby was leaning against the wall watching him closely. She’d been much more receptive to Sam rather than Dean so the older brother wondered if it was even worth it to ask her which way Castiel went.

“He went towards his room.” she said simply.

Dean was taken aback for a moment.

“Thank you.” he said, running past her.

“No problem boss.” She said, adopting Guy’s moniker for Dean, causing him to roll his eyes as he hurried down the hallway.

When he reached Cas’s door, he saw that it was slightly open. He pushed it the rest of the way and his eyes took a moment to adjust to the almost entirely dark room. Castiel was nowhere to be seen.

“Cas? Cas hear me out for a minute.” He said, looking around.

He heard a shuffle and his eyes moved to the other side of the bed where he saw movement. Dean walked towards him slowly and moved around the bed. When he saw Castiel leaning against the bed with his knees drawn to his chest and his wings wrapped around him, he sighed and knelt down beside him. The angel’s eyes glittered in the darkness of the room and Dean could barely make out the tear that slid down his face.

“Please don’t send me back there. I’ll do anything, I’ll be better.” The angel pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Cas…” Dean said, shaking his head. “You have it all wrong. I am never going to make you go back there.”

Castiel looked confused, his eyebrows knitting together.

“Then why were you there?” he asked.

“I needed to get a point across.” Dean said simply.

He wasn’t going to tell Cas, or any of the other angels and demons, his plans yet. He didn’t want to get their hopes up just in case everything fell apart. The angel before him didn’t argue with his lack of information. Dean knew then that he trusted Dean completely as his wings unraveled and fell to the side, leaving his body unprotected. His still shaking hand reached out and took Dean’s hand. The human watched as the angel traced the lines on his palm.

“Hey Cas…” he said, confused.

He looked up at Dean, waiting for him to finish.

“You’re still, uh… in heat, right?”

The angel shuddered and nodded at the reminder of what happened the previous day.

“Then why can’t I smell you? I’m sorry, I know you probably don’t want to talk about it but…”

“I can stop the smell, if I want to. It is difficult and taxing but I can do it. With… with him, he never let me hide it. He liked it. I was unprepared for it yesterday and that is what I was trying to do before… before you came in. It took me a long time to grasp the concentration necessary but I was able to do it while you were gone.” Castiel explained.

Dean let out a sigh of relief.

“You should only do that when you’re around others, though. I don’t want you to completely drain your batteries when it’s unnecessary.”

Cas looked straight forward at the large windows that were mostly covered by heavy curtains that he failed to open that morning.

“I don’t like it, the feeling that it gives other people… I hate it, actually. I don’t like to influence anyone like that, especially everyone here. Especially you.” he said, turning his eyes on Dean.

“But that’s all… you can only stop the smell?” Dean asked, recognizing the frustration in his eyes.

“Yes, that is all that I have control over.” Cas nodded.

“So you’re still… I mean you still…”

“I am still in heat, yes.” He confirmed.

Dean nodded and looked away, uncomfortable with the subject at this point.

“Usually… during this time… certain things were expected of me.” Castiel said, staring straight at Dean as he spoke.

“You know that’s not true here, Cas. You don’t have to…”

“… do anything I don’t want to do.” The angel finished for Dean, recognizing the oft-repeated speech. “But what about what I do want to do?”

Dean stared at him with confusion, not understanding as Cas reached out and put his hand on Dean’s chest.

“Cas, I can’t.” he said, reaching up to pull his hand away.

The angel looked confused, furrowing his brow as he leaned in. Dean froze for a moment, his body pulling him to allow Cas to do whatever he wanted while his mind rebelled against that idea, telling him to stop the angel from doing something that he would regret later and even possibly resent Dean for allowing to happen. His mind won out and his body jerked away from Cas. He stumbled to his feet and took a deep breath. Castiel stared up at him, his eyes big and his mouth turned into a frown.

“I can’t do this to you, Cas. I can’t take advantage of you like this.” Dean said, clenching his hands into fists as he tried to clear his head.

“I want this to happen, Dean. You are a good man.” Cas argued, moving to stand up.

The human shook his head, backing away.

“Cas I said no.” he said with certainty.

As quickly as he could, Dean pushed past the angel and ran out the door.

—————

For the rest of the week, Dean avoided the common area and the rooms of the angels and demons like the plague. When Sam and Jess sat him down and asked him what happened, he explained everything. They agreed that he did what was best and they said that he should stay away from Castiel while he was going through the difficult cycle because that was probably what caused his strange behavior. A week after the incident in Cas’s room, Anna came to Dean’s room and knocked on the door.

“How is everyone doing?” he asked while he tied his boots.

“They’re fine, once Castiel was able to diminish the effects of his scent everything went just as normal. We all apologized to him for our behavior.” Anna said as she sat on the edge of the bed with him.

“And how’s he doing?” Dean questioned, glancing over at her.

“Great. He’s done with the cycle now so his emotions and reactions are much more balanced.” Anna explained.

He nodded as he stood, pulling on the plaid shirt over his t-shirt and leaving it unbuttoned.

“He misses you, I think. I know that you two haven’t been… well I haven’t seen you together. He’s much sadder now than he was.” she said softly.

Dean sighed and looked over towards the balcony in his room at the forest beyond.

“I just… I had to stay away from him. He was as affected by the whole heat thing as we were by his scent. He was trying to do things that I don’t think he normally would have done. I know he wouldn’t have… if he’d been in his right mind.”

Anna stood, staring at him with a frown.

“What makes you think that he wouldn’t have done them?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

“He was half out of his mind with lust, I guess. He was… really really forward. I mean really forw…”

“Dean Winchester you are an idiot.” Anna said, rolling her eyes.

“Hey!” he protested, staring at her.

“Well you are! Angels don’t just going around trying to have sex with anything on legs when they’re in heat. They’re looking for their mate… trying to attract them. When Castiel was with Zachariah, he was affecting the human, not the other way around. If he was trying to make a move on you, it means that there was something else there. An attraction that existed before the heat even began.” She informed him with an exasperated look.

It was Dean’s turn to frown as he sat back on the bed.

“But he’s… he’s…”

“I swear if the next words to come out of your mouth are ‘damaged goods’ I will hit you.” Anna threatened, her wings fluttering as if to back up her threat.

“No! No he’s just… he’s not healed yet, not internally. He shouldn’t be feeling anything like this. He should be healing from what Zachariah did to him. What kind of man would I be if I encouraged him to move on too fast only for him to freak out later and realize that he wasn’t ready yet and that he didn’t know that he wasn’t ready.”

Anna sighed, sitting next to him.

“He’s been following you for weeks. He’s watched your interactions with everyone, angels, demons, and humans. He sees your soul and he sees how good you are. He’s drawn to you in ways I can’t really explain because it’s everything to do with being an angel. Just because that feeling was magnified by his mating cycle doesn’t mean that it was only his lust driving him. I’m not saying jump straight into a relationship with him.

I’m saying… don’t disregard any feelings he might have just because he’s been through so much. You’ve been through a lot too with the way your father treated you and I know that you love others just as easily as Castiel. You’re the same, Dean. You both love easily even after everything and that’s not a bad thing. Just… don’t throw these feelings away because you’re afraid of Castiel’s past.”

Dean let everything she said sink in as silence filled the room.

“I’m going to go make sure everyone is all right in the common room. I’ll see you later. Come to me if you need to talk or better yet… go talk to Castiel.” She said, patting his shoulder before standing up.

Dean watched her go as his hands fumbled and twisted around each other and he carefully considered their conversation.

\----------

He walked into the big room slowly but it wasn’t enough and every angel and demon’s eyes fell on him. He nodded and waved at their greetings while his eyes searched the room for the one angel he was looking for. When he caught sight of Castiel on a large couch smushed between Meg on one side and Ruby on the other, he sighed when he saw that the blue-eyed angel looked good.

Cas looked up at the many shouts thrown at Dean and his eyes searched for the human amongst his fellow creatures. When their eyes met, Dean stopped short and smiled with hesitation, beckoning for Cas to come over.

The angel unwound himself from Meg and Ruby, who were cleaning his wings. He made his way over with a ducked head that immediately lifted when he was standing about a foot away from him.

“Wanna take a walk?” Dean asked.

Castiel nodded and the corners of his mouth lifted as Dean led the way out of the common room. Once they were outside, the angel began making his way towards the clearing that they went to last time they were walking. Dean caught his hand and shook his head.

“We’re going to a different place today.” He said, pulling him to a well-worn path.

Once they reached it, Dean hesitated before slowly letting go of Cas’s hand. Before he could, though, Castiel gripped it tighter and pulled him back so that they were walking side-by-side, hand-in-hand.. Dean favored him with a smile that made the angel feel warmth in his chest.

“So… I overreacted.” The human finally sighed after five minutes of walking.

“No, I was not in control of my actions. You had a right to act that way and I am grateful that you did. It’s not that those things… well they cross my mind. But I would not have acted on my feelings if it weren’t for the state I was in. Not if I knew that you did not want me to.” Castiel admitted.

Dean sighed and looked around.

“Cas… the truth is… I thought you were beautiful that day at the auction house. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. I was drawn to you in ways that I don’t think I can ever explain. Ever since then, that’s only been getting stronger. I’m painfully aware of your presence whenever you’re around me. When I walk in the room you’re the first person I look for. I haven’t felt that way in… in years.” Dean said honestly.

“I’ve never felt like this ever.” Cas replied.

Dean smiled slightly and looked down at the ground.

“I care about you, Cas. I care about keeping you safe and making sure that nothing happens to you. It’s because I care about you that I denied you… and avoided you. I needed to keep you safe even from me because I wanted so badly to let you do what you wanted to do. I was very nearly not strong enough to stop you and that terrifies me because I promised myself that the moment the angels and demons that I rescued stepped into my house, I would never make them feel like a slave again.”

“You have never made me feel like a slave. You make me feel freer than I can ever remember being, even before we were slaves. I was a soldier and I was still under someone’s thumb.” Castiel assured him.

Dean looked over at him with a wide-eyed expression.

“You were a soldier?” he asked.

Cas looked back at him, his stare even and calm.

“I was not always Zachariah’s property.” He said.

Dean was even more taken aback since this was the first time he’d heard Castiel say Zachariah’s name since they rescued him.

“Wow… I mean, I knew that you were a soldier in the back of my mind but thinking about it… it’s weird.” He admitted.

“I agree. It’s strange for even me to think back on that time since it was so long ago. It gets even more… weird… to think that I was fighting demons, the creatures that I now befriend in your home and find to be quite decent. I wonder if we knew then what we know now, that the demons are not so different than us… if we would have fought the war at all.

The world would be a much more tolerable place if so many had not died for the decisions of those few leaders who decided that the battles that ravaged this world were necessary.” Castiel said, his gaze far off into the trees.

Dean regarded him with interest. Before he could say another word, they reached their destination. Castiel’s eyes followed the glittering water of the lake as they walked to the edge.

“This is as beautiful as the clearing you took me to.” He said with wonder, letting go of Dean’s hand to bend down and skim his hand over the water.

“Sammy and I always use to come out here and swim when we were little.” Dean said, squatting down next to Cas.

“Swim… I have never had the chance to do such a thing.” Castiel admitted as he looked at his reflection in the water.

Dean glanced over at him.

“Wouldn’t your wings weigh you down?” he asked.

“On the contrary, I believe they would help me, providing more power.” Cas shrugged, stretching his wings out behind him.

Dean felt them ruffling against his back and tickling his neck and shivers ran throughout his body.

“Well then by all means, let’s get wet.” He decided, standing up and pulling his shirt off.

Castiel stared up at him with confusion.

“What are you waiting for, Cas? Get your clothes off unless you want to hike back to the house with wet jeans on.” Dean urged him as he kicked his boots off.

Cas stood and began shedding his clothes as Dean did until they were both left in their boxers.

“Follow me.” Dean said, taking Cas’s hand and pulling him into the water.

“It’s warm.” Cas marveled as they waded in.

“Yep, for now during the summer. Once it hits winter you never want to come in here. The water will freeze your… well let’s just say you won’t like it.” Dean said smirking as the water rose up to their hips and continued further up their torsos.

Once they were chest deep, Dean stopped and turned to Cas, letting him go and gliding backwards.

“Just do what I do.” He said as he lifted onto his back and floated on the surface.

Castiel watched him for a moment before doing the same. His eyes widened when he began to sink and he spluttered as water filled his mouth and he flailed around. Dean reached out and grabbed him, pulling him up with a short laugh as Castiel stared at him with shocked eyes and his hair flattened against his head.

“Sam does that all the time too. I guess floating is hard for some people… or angels.” He said, ruffling Cas’s hair to make it stand on end again.

The angel squinted at him, looking as if he accepted the challenge as he drifted away from Dean and tried to do it once again, sinking down again with a yell of frustration that was drowned by the water he once again inhaled.

“Stubborn son of a bitch.” Dean said, shaking his head as he thumped Cas’s back to help him expel all the water.

—————

Dean chuckled as Castiel shook his head wildly, causing water droplets to fly everywhere. The strands stood on end and he looked over at Dean, causing him to laugh harder at the crazed look it gave him.

“I can see you two had a good time.” Anna said as she stepped out of the house with two towels to greet them.

“Cas had his first swimming experience.” Dean explained, rubbing his hair with the towel.

“Did you have fun, Castiel?” the redhead asked the other angel.

“I did. Dean constantly provides amusement in several ways.” Castiel nodded, drying off his face.

“Doesn’t he?” Anna said, a teasing glint in her eyes.

Dean scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“All right, that’s enough taunting of the human for today.” He said gruffly.

“Never!” she laughed, nudging him as they walked inside.

“I’m gonna go take a shower. You’re gonna wanna clean up too, Cas. That water’s warm but it sure isn’t very sanitary.” Dean informed the angel, who nodded.

“After that, you need to make a run into town. Ruby had an idea for how to make Castiel’s cycles easier on everyone. She knows this mixture that… well it’ll make everything easier.”

“And you trust her? For sure?” Dean asked, frowning.

“Not really… she’s not used to us yet so that’s not fault of her own. But I did tune into her emotions while she told me and Jess about it. She wasn’t lying.” Anna said confidently.

“All right.” Dean stopped before turning to face Cas. “You wanna come with?”

Anna’s smile faded and she looked concerned.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. I’ll keep him locked up in the car when I go inside. We can’t just keep him cooped up here, Anna. I’ve brought the others out before. It’ll be good for him.” Dean said, nodding.

She sighed but nodded before looking at the dark-haired angel.

“I would like to go with you, Dean.” Castiel nodded.

“Great. Meet me here in an hour. We’ll head out.”

—————

When they got in the car and began driving away, Dean chanced a look over at Castiel only to see that he was inspecting the radio with a confused look, his head tilted aside and his mouth turned down in a frown.

“Something wrong?” Dean questioned.

Castiel glanced up at him.

“I’ve never been in a car before you took me away from Zachariah. This is only my second time. Zachariah lived closed to the auction house and that was the only place I was allowed to go other than his home. We would walk there when I went.” He explained, reaching out curiously to press a button on the radio.

He jumped with wide eyes when music began blaring out of the speakers. Dean chuckled and turned the volume down.

“This is called ‘Smoke on the Water’.” He explained to the startled angel.

“It is… interesting.” Cas said, leaning back against the seat.

“It’s classic.” Dean corrected him with a grin.

Castiel looked confused at the term and he sighed, shaking his head before reaching down to pick up the box of tapes from the floorboard.

“And so begins your education.” He said, pulling out a Zeppelin tape.

—————

When they got into town, Dean immediately went to the only shop he trusted to give him what he needed. He parked and turned to Castiel, who was listening closely to the music that Dean had playing.

“I’m gonna go in. You stay here, all right? Lock the doors and if anyone gives you trouble, come in and get me.” Dean instructed.

Cas nodded and watched as Dean exited the car with a slightly concerned face that he covered with a smile when the human looked back at him. Dean walked into the story and was immediately assaulted with the smell of incense burning.

“Dean Winchester you get your ass over here and tell me why you took so long to come see me again.” A voice said from behind the counter.

“Hey Missouri.” He said, grinning as the woman moved out from behind the counter to hug him.

She slapped him over the head once she pulled away.

“Ow!” he complained.

“I don’t care if you’re gonna buy something or not, you drop in and let me know how you’re doing. You and that kid brother of yours. How is Sam? And that sweet girl, Jessica?” Missouri asked.

“They’re good, trying for a baby if the amount of time they spend shut up in their bedroom is any indication.” Dean said, smirking as he pulled a list of ingredients out of his pocket.

“You hush now! They’re newlyweds.” Missouri chided him.

“They’ve been married for two and a half years.” He corrected her.

She scoffed and held her hand out for the list. When she read it over, her eyebrow lifted and she glanced at him.

“You got a new angel?” the woman asked.

“Yeah… well… sort of. It’s been about a month.” He said, frowning at her as she began gathering the supplies he needed.

“And how did his first cycle go?” Missouri questioned.

“Wh… how did you know?” he asked, shocked and slightly afraid.

She faced him with an exasperated look.

“I been doing this since before you were born, boy! I know what ingredients go with what mixtures.” Missouri said with a roll of her eyes.

Dean sighed and leaned against the counter.

“It went fine… after the first day. He was able to shut it down and make it so we didn’t want to jump his bones.” he explained. “Missouri you can’t…”

“I’m not gonna tell anyone, Dean. I’m just worried what’ll happen if someone else does find out. It won’t be good for you at all.”

“I’ll take care of whatever happens. I’m not going to let him get hurt.” Dean said defensively.

Missouri turned to face him as she placed the stuff in a bag.

“You’ve got him with you, don’t you?” she asked.

Dean stared back at her.

“I left the air on.” he shrugged.

“Dean Winchester you are an idiot sometimes. Don’t you know that angel is too pretty to be left alone anywhere in public?” Missouri scolded him.

“What? He’s fine, I told him to lock the doors. Wait, how do you know what he looks like?” Dean questioned.

She gave him a look and he stared back with narrowed eyes.

“You know I don’t like people in my head, Missouri.” He reminded her.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t be an open book, projecting your thoughts like you want me to hear.” She responded.

Dean scoffed as he handed her cash from his wallet.

“I am doing nothing of the…”

Missouri cut him off, grasping his hand with wide eyes.

“You need to get out there, now!” she hissed, shoving him towards the door.

Dean didn’t hesitate when he saw the panic in her eyes. He turned to run out, immediately catching sight of the Impala. The window on the passenger side was shattered and the door was wide open. The engine was still running.

“Oh no… Cas!” he yelled, running around to see a few black feathers scattered on the ground among the broken glass.

Dean stared around wildly and Missouri came running out.

“They’re behind the building!” she said, her voice holding the panic that he was feeling.

He didn’t hesitate, running towards the back alley. He heard the voices before he saw them. The taunting words filled him with fury as he knew their intention. It was the whimper and cry of pain that made him see red as he rounded the corner. What he saw forced an inhuman growl out of his chest. Castiel was bent over on all fours. Three human males surrounded him.

One of the men was behind him and the other in front. A red mark was forming on Castiel’s cheek but that wasn’t the worst of it. His pants and boxers were pulled down to his knees. The man behind him was shoving his fingers into Castiel with a sadistic grin as the angel sobbed and tried to struggle away from him uselessly.

The man in front of him had his hand fisted in Castiel’s feathers, yanking them painfully to keep him still as he spit filthy words at him while he tried to unzip his pants with his other hand.

Dean let out a roar of fury and launched at the men before they knew what was coming. He didn’t even think. His fury took over his actions and the next thing he knew, the men were all scattered on the ground around him unconscious.

Each of them were bleeding profusely from their faces and they all had at least two broken bones. Dean, however, felt no pain even though he knew his knuckles were bleeding and he had a cut on his cheek from when they tried to fight back. Missouri was on the ground helping Castiel dress himself.

“You need to get him out of here before the authorities come, Dean. They can’t know what happened. These boys won’t remember what happened when they wake up, I’ll make sure of that.” Missouri said, helping Cas up as she stared at Dean.

He inhaled deeply and tried to clear his head of the remaining anger.

“Go, Dean. Now! I put the supplies in your car.” Missouri said, pulling them towards the front of the shop.

Dean took a hold of Cas’s arm, feeling that the angel was shaking violently. He hurried him towards the front of the shop and helped him into the Impala after brushing the glass off of the seat. He ran to the other side and peeled out of the parking lot, hurrying down the street away from the town as quickly as he could. Dean’s hands clenched the steering wheel tightly and he felt a distant stinging pain as blood ran down the back of his hands, staining his jacket sleeves.

“D-Dean.” Cas whimpered, reaching over to touch him with a trembling hand.

Dean seemed to snap out of his trance and he looked over to see that Castiel was crying as he touched his hand. Before he knew it, he was pulling over on the side of the highway and stopping the car.

“Cas.” He took his hands off the wheel and reached towards him. “Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Cas shook his head but a sob ripped it’s way out of his chest.

“I’m s-sorry. I tried to get to you but… but they dragged me away. They hurt my wings. I couldn’t… I’m sorry.” He dropped his head in shame as he clutched at Dean’s hands.

“No, Cas.” Dean said roughly, forcing the angel to look up at him. “It is not your fault. None of it… none is your fault. Those bastards… I wish I’d killed them. They deserved it for even touching you.”

Cas shook his head.

“You would get into trouble. They would take you away.” He whimpered, clutching at Dean’s hands as his eyes produced even more tears.

Dean noticed that he was no longer feeling pain and he looked down to see that his wounds were healed. He sighed and looked back up. His hand lifted to touch Cas’s cheek.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you like that. It was my fault and I should have known better. I just… I wanted to let you have a good time and now… I screwed up.” He admitted.

Castiel leaned in, pressing his forehead against Dean.

“You saved me, Dean.” He breathed, trying to calm himself down as he stared into the human’s green eyes.

Dean felt his breath catch in his throat as he realized just how close they were. Instead of pulling away, he moved forward and pressed his lips lightly to Castiel’s. The angel froze in shock for a moment. Dean realized what he was doing and he jerked away, his eyes wide and apologetic.

“I’m sorry, Cas… I shouldn’t have…”

He was cut off by the angel leaning in and pressing his lips to Dean’s eagerly, his hand weaving into Dean’s short hair. The human sighed against his lips and responded, pressing in close and stroking Cas’s wet cheek softly to soothe him.

“I’m not gonna let anything like that happen again, Cas.” he said as he embraced the angel, allowing his head to fall to Dean’s shoulder. “I’m gonna keep you safe.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean is injured and he lashes out when his emotions get the better of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some violence in this chapter.

As soon as they arrived at the house, Dean separated from Castiel only long enough to get out of the car. His hand was in Cas’s as soon as he reached the angel’s side once again and they were walking up to the house slowly.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt? I can get Anna to check you out.” Dean murmured as he opened the door.

Castiel shook his head, holding his hand tightly.

“I am tired. I only want to lie down.” He sighed.

Sam and Jess walked into the entryway, attracted by the sound of them entering, and both of them looked concerned at Cas’s colorless face.

“What’s wrong?” Jess asked, rushing forward as her motherly instincts took over.

Dean gave her a warning look that told her they would discuss it later. Sam wisely pulled her away as the angel and the human walked up the stairs. Castiel turned to walk down the hallway that led to his room but Dean stopped him, pulling the other way.

“Where are we going?” he asked, confused.

“Somewhere else.” Dean answered.

He pushed his door open and flipped on the light, throwing the room into a dim light. Castiel walked in behind Dean, looking around.

“This is very nice.” The angel said, looking towards the balcony and out at the forest beyond the house.

“Anna decorated it. She insisted that I couldn’t have a bare room with a bed and dresser. Apparently it wouldn’t be appropriate.” Dean explained as he walked forward.

“I like it.” Castiel said, turning to face him.

Dean sighed and took the angel’s hand, pulling him to the bed.

“Would you at least let me look at your wing? I saw what…” Dean cut off as they both winced at the reminder.

Castiel extended his wing very carefully and laid it across the human’s lap. Dean immediately saw the area with bent feathers where the man grabbed them and pulled. He reached out gingerly and began sorting the feathers out, remembering the information that a bird with bent feathers would only hurt more if the feathers weren’t put back into order. He assumed that it was the same way with angels. Castiel let out a whimper and his hands shot out, grasping Dean’s lower thighs as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“I’m sorry. I have to.” Dean whispered apologetically, trying to be as gentle as he could.

He concentrated, trying to block out the pained sounds that the angel was making. Finally, all of the feathers were laying flat and a few that were hanging on by a thread easily fell out. Dean gathered them and laid them on the bed. When he looked up, Castiel was shaking and tears were dripping down his face. He reached out and wiped them away, leaning in to kiss his eyelids before pulling away. The angel opened his eyes and stared at Dean with shock at the tenderness in the actions.

“C’mon, Cas.” Dean said, pulling him towards the top of the bed.

He tossed the extra pillows aside and propped up the necessary ones before laying back against the headboard in a half-reclining position. Castiel followed Dean’s unspoken instructions, laying back against him with his wings splayed out across Dean and the bed. Dean’s arm draped over his shoulders and Cas laid his head on his chest. Dean’s other hand gently ran through Cas’s feathers, soothing him. Castiel’s eyes drooped closed as his exhaustion settled in.

“Thank you, Dean.” He murmured.

“Don’t worry about it, Cas.” Dean replied, his own voice filled with sleepyness.

They drifted off together, their bodies relaxing as they felt safe with one another.

\----------

Castiel blinked, his body slowly coming out of the sleepy haze as he tried to figure out where he was. The bed was soft and comfortable beneath him. It took him a moment to realize that he was covered in blankets where he hadn’t been before. Low voices reached his ears but he couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying. He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, looking down to see that he was no longer in the jacket that he was wearing before. His shoes were also removed.

He stretched his wings out slowly, relieved to feel that the injured one was no longer sore after Dean’s careful care of it. He looked around to see that Dean, Sam, and Jess were out on the balcony sitting in chairs and sipping at drinks out of coffee cups. He shifted up to his knees, scooting towards the edge of the bed. His movement must have caught Dean’s eye because the human turned to look at him, a soft smile forming on his face. Sam and Jess noticed, looking around to glance at him.

“That’s our cue.” Jess said, standing up.

Sam followed her into the room. The tall blonde woman leaned over Castiel, her light floral scent filling his senses as she pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

“See you later, Castiel.” Sam said as they walked out of the room.

Cas stood up once they were gone and shuffled his way outside, folding his wings in as he sat down on another chair.

“Sleep well?” Dean asked, studying Castiel.

The angel was ruffled, his hair sticking up in every direction even more than it usually did. His eyes were puffy and there was a red mark on his cheek where it was pressed into the pillow. He nodded, licking his lips and clearing his throat.

“How long did I sleep?” he asked, his voice rough with sleep.

“About six hours.” Dean answered, shifting a little as he tried to hide his body’s reaction to the gravelly sound of Cas’s voice.

Castiel looked surprised by that and he looked out to see the sun sinking down into the horizon.

“I did not intend to sleep that long.” He admitted.

“It’s fine, Cas. Hell I only woke up an hour ago. Looks like we both needed some shut-eye.” Dean assured him.

He stood and set his cup down on the table on the balcony.

“You hungry?”

Castiel nodded, his stomach choosing that moment to rumble noisily. Dean grinned and held out his hand.

“Let me make you one of the greatest burgers you’ll ever eat.”

\----------

When Anna walked into the kitchen to find Dean and Cas perched on the counter eating burgers, she rolled her eyes.

“You do know there is a table in the next room.” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“It’s not as fun.” Dean shrugged, grinning at her.

Castiel simply grunted in agreement as he took a large bite of his burger.

“You two are ridiculous.” She informed them, reaching towards Dean with an envelope in her hand. “This came for you.”

He slid off of the counter and grabbed it, opening it. When he saw the message, his smile fell and he crumpled the paper up in his hands.

“I have to go into town.”

Castiel and Anna stared at him with confusion.

“Now?” the redhead asked.

Dean nodded, his jaw tight as he moved to walk out of the kitchen. Cas watched as he went his eyes falling to the half-eaten burger that he left behind.

“Do you know what that’s about, Castiel?” Anna questioned.

He shook his head, staring at the door of the kitchen with worry etched onto his face.

\----------

“I think I should go with you.” Sam said, walking alongside Dean as they went out to the Impala.

“Sam, I can handle it. It is just Zachariah and he has the information we need. Trust me, he’s not going to risk going to jail by doing anything stupid.” Dean sighed, stepping up to the driver’s door.

“Why couldn’t the information be given to you in the letter? This is suspicious, Dean. It won’t hurt to have a little back up just in case.” The younger brother argued.

Dean lifted his hand and put it on Sam’s shoulder.

“I’ll be fine. Hold down the fort, I’ll be back in an hour.” He said.

Sam sighed heavily as his brother climbed into the car and started it. As he drove off, Sam’s eyes lifted and he saw a shadowed figure perched on a window. He recognized the big black wings. The angel’s head followed the path of the Impala until it was no longer visible. Sam sighed again and walked inside with his hands shoved in his pockets. Just before he closed the door, he heard a whooshing noise. His eyes widened and he turned, running up the stairs.

“Sam?” Jess was in the hallway coming out of Rachel’s room.

He ran past her and slammed into Castiel’s room. The window was wide open but the angel was no longer perched in it. Sam ran to the window in time to see him lifting into the dark sky with his wings outstretched. Jess ran up beside him and gasped when she saw.

“I thought they weren’t supposed to be able to fly anymore.” She marveled.

“I think Cas is a special case for a lot of reasons.” Sam breathed, wondering what would happen now that the angel was following his brother.

\----------

Dean slammed the door to his car shut once he climbed out. The street was dimly lit by the large lights. No one else was on it besides him. He walked up to the auction house door and knocked on it several times. The locks unlatched and opened to reveal Gordon with a severely bruised. Dean smirked and stepped past him.

“Looking good.” He said, patting his cheek before walking further into the room.

Zachariah was hovering by the stage watching Dean as he walked up.

“You’re a lot of things, Adler. Slow is not one of them. I’m impressed that you managed to get this information so fast.” Dean commented, walking forward.

The auction house owner smiled at Dean.

“That’s the thing, Winchester. I didn’t get any information.” He said.

Suddenly Dean felt a blinding pain the back of his head as Gordon’s stick connected with it. He dropped to his knees with a yell of pain as his vision swam. Before he could recover, a steel-toed boot connected with his ribs. He coughed as he slumped over.

“I am the most powerful man in this town, Dean. You can’t threaten me and get away with it.” Zachariah said tauntingly.

Dean opened his mouth to fire back a retort but the boot slammed into his cheek, flipping him backwards and onto his back. He tasted blood in his mouth and felt it running down his cheek.

“Son of a bitch!” he cursed, sitting up and spitting out blood onto the ground.

Suddenly Gordon was hovering over him. He grasped Dean’s head and slammed it into the ground, causing him to see dark spots in his vision.

“Shut the hell up, Winchester!” the guard growled, grinning down at him sadistically.

He moved away from him and Zachariah’s face suddenly swam into his vision.

“Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to give Castiel back to me without causing a fuss and I won’t tell the authorities that you’re a traitor.”

Dean wheezed as Gordon’s boot pressed into his side where he probably had more than one cracked rib. The speed at which the situation between him and Zachariah reversed would have been impressive if Dean wasn’t lying on the ground bleeding out of his head.

“Go to hell.” Dean spat in Zachariah’s face, spraying blood on him.

The man’s hand shot out and wrapped around his throat, pressing down.

“Or I can tell everyone and you and your brother will be carted off to prison. All of your slaves will be given back to me and I’ll sell them to other clients who will beat them and fuck them into submission. You’re choice, Winchester. Choose wisely. Castiel… or the others.”

“Over my dead body will you ever get your filthy hands on Cas again.” Dean choked out, still managing to glare up at the auction house owner.

Zachariah grinned and tightened his grip.

“If that’s how you want to play things.” he said all-too-happily.

Suddenly a loud noise sounded and the pressure on Dean’s chest and throat disappeared. He heard Zachariah let out a noise of surprise and his head lifted to look over at the door to the auction house. In the shadows of the room, Castiel stood there with his wings spread and his hands clenched into fists.

“Looks like he decided to deliver himself.” Zachariah said tauntingly, stepping over Dean.

“Cas… no.”

Dean tried to turn over to stand but Gordon forced him down again.

“Welcome back, Castiel.” Zachariah said in greeting as he stepped up to the angel.

“You hurt Dean.” Cas said, glancing down at the bleeding and broken human.

“Only because he wouldn’t give me what I wanted. If you come back willingly, I’ll let him go free and clear.” Zachariah said. “Or we can do this the hard way. You come with me and Dean gets hurt even more.”

Castiel stared at Dean for a moment, conflict in his eyes.

“Cas… don’t do it.” Dean choked out.

The angel relaxed his fists and wings, looking back at Zachariah, who smirked happily.

“I think I’ll take the third option.” Castiel said.

The auction house owner’s smile faded.

“What third option?” he demanded.

Castiel’s hand shot out and wrapped around Zachariah’s throat.

“The one where you come with us willingly and I won’t kill you right here.” He growled in his face.

Dean watched with shock as Gordon launched forward. Cas’s other hand shot out and before he even made it within three feet of them, Gordon was thrown across the room and into the wall. A sickening crunch sounded and the guard dropped to the floor limply.

“Or we can do this the hard way.” Castiel finished, glancing back at his former owner.

“You are a slave!” Zachariah sputtered.

Castiel stared at him evenly.

“Not anymore. You have no leverage over me and now you’ve hurt my Dean.” He said, letting Zachariah go.

“You will pay for…” the human’s threat was cut off when Castiel’s fist slammed across his face, effectively knocking him out so that he was lying on the ground without moving.

He stared down at Zachariah for a few moments, breathing heavily as he realized that he just stood up to the man who made his life hell for several years.

“Cas.” Dean whispered as he struggled to get up.

The angel ran to him and helped him up.

“Gordon…” Dean said, looking over at the unmoving guard.

“I think I killed him.” Castiel said, sounding slightly afraid.

The human let out a chuckle as he clutched at his side.

“Good, the guy deserved it. He was a dick.” He said.

“Dean, I have to heal you.” Castiel said, concerned over the wounds on him.

“No, we have to get out. If anyone finds us we’ll be in trouble. We need to take Zachariah with us.” Dean huffed out.

“Let me get you to the car first.” Cas sighed, pulling Dean out of the auction house and to the Impala.

Dean looked over at the angel as he helped him out.

“Hey how did you get here?” he asked, suddenly realizing that the angel shouldn’t have been there.

Cas sighed as he helped Dean into the passenger side.

“I flew.” He said simply, situating Dean on the seat.

Dean stared up at him with wide eyes.

“All the way here?” he asked.

Castiel nodded as he pulled away.

“Why?” the human questioned.

The angel leaned in and pressed his hand to Dean’s cheek.

“You needed me.” he said simply before shutting the door.

Dean watched him disappear back into the building and that was the last thing he remembered before he slid into unconsciousness.

\----------

When the inhabitants of the house heard the roar of the Impala as it pulled up onto the driveway, none of them paid much attention. They were used to it and expected Dean to burst in at any moment shouting about his recent trip to town and what information he discovered. Their first hint that something was wrong was the fact that three full minutes went by without the front door opening. Jess and Sam ventured into the entryway with confused looks. At that moment, the door slammed open with force and they both jumped back, surprised by the suddenness of the action.

They watched with wide eyes as Castiel walked through the door supporting an unconscious Dean in his arms. They both had blood all over them but they could tell that it was all coming from Dean. Sam rushed forward to help the angel but his eyes flashed and he stepped away, clutching Dean to him protectively as if the human was feather light. The older Winchester hung limply in Cas’s arms, his eyelids fluttering as if he was trying to regain consciousness.

“Zachariah is in the trunk of the car.” Castiel informed Sam. “He should be restrained before he awakens.”

“Zachariah? What the hell happened?” Sam demanded.

Castiel studied him warily before moving towards the stairs.

“I will take care of Dean.” He said simply.

Jess looked at Sam with wide eyes before hurrying up the stairs after Cas while calling to Anna for help. The redhead rushed in and took one look at Castiel ascending the stairs before she looked at Sam.

“I need your help with Zachariah.” Sam said, pulling her outside to the Impala.

Sure enough, the auction house owner was lying unconscious in the trunk with a broken nose.

“What on earth…” Anna began to question.

“Help me get him inside.” Sam cut her off, grunting as they dragged his body out and carried it inside.

\----------

Jess helped Castiel strip off Dean’s clothing down to his boxers once they got to his room. The blonde was horrified when she saw the bruises that littered his torso. She put towels down on the bed and they laid him on top of them so that he wouldn’t bleed onto the blankets. Castiel began searching his body for injuries as she watched.

“What happened, Castiel?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I’m sure Dean will have an explanation when he awakens. Perhaps Sam knows something.” Cas answered, placing his hands on Dean’s chest.

“What are you doing?” Jess questioned.

He closed his eyes and concentrated.

“Dean has a severe concussion, three broken ribs, one of which has punctured his lung, two cracked ribs, his orbital bone is broken, and he has a laceration on the inside of his cheek. I must heal him.” he said.

Jess watched with a concerned look as he concentrated. Suddenly white light floated out of his hand as she watched.

“This didn’t happen last time you healed him.” she said, leaning forward with a surprised look.

“His injury was not in danger of being fatal last time and I barely had to use any of my grace. If I didn’t heal him now, he would die. Life-threatening injuries take much more grace to heal.”

“So… when you heal him you’re giving him part of yourself? Part of your grace?” she asked, looking at Castiel with a tender gaze.

His eyes opened to meet hers and he nodded. She smiled and reached out, holding his other hand as the light continued to pour into Dean’s chest.

“You’re good, Castiel. I’m so sorry for what you’ve had to live through.” Jess said, squeezing his hand.

He hesitated and his eyes flashed down to the human lying on the bed.

“I would live through it all again if that’s what it took for me to meet Dean. You and Sam as well.” he said honestly.

She looked down at Dean as well. Her eyes lit up more when she saw the bruises and cuts slowly disappearing.

“That’s amazing.” Jess breathed, brushing her hand over Dean’s cheek where the only evidence of an injury was the blood that still remained.

The dark-haired angel let out a long sigh and sat backwards once Dean was completely healed. He hunched over and breathed heavily.

“Castiel? Are you all right?” Jess asked, concerned as she stood and walked around the bed to check on him.

Anna and Sam walked in at that moment. The redhead ran up when she caught sight of Castiel’s colorless face and slumped body.

“I just exhausted myself. I’ll be fine.” He said, moving to stand up.

He stumbled a few steps and Anna and Jess caught him, holding him up.

“You should lie down, Castiel. You just healed Dean and I know that took a lot out of you.” Anna said softly, pulling him towards the door.

“No, I won’t leave Dean.” He said stubbornly.

Anna looked up at Sam for help.

“Cas…” he said, trying out his Dean-given nickname to see if it would make him more agreeable. “… we’ll take care of Dean. You can go rest for a while and come back as soon as you get some sleep.”

The angel’s blue eyes flashed up to him and Sam saw something more than concern in them.

“Would you leave Jess?” he asked.

Sam hesitated, looking at Jess and Anna who looked shocked at his question.

“No.” he said honestly. “I love Jess more than anything.”

The blonde’s eyes softened at his words but Castiel looked more set in his ways at Sam’s answer.

“I’ll remain with Dean.” He said, moving back towards the bed and sinking down onto it beside the unconscious human with his wings folded behind his back so that they wouldn’t bother Dean.

Anna looked at Castiel with wide eyes before moving beside him.

“At least lie down.” She urged in a soft voice.

“I’m fine.” He said, shaking his head.

“You flew today, Castiel. I know how much strength that must have taken. Add that to how much grace you used to heal Dean and I know that you are fighting with your own body to stay awake. We’re not asking you to leave Dean but at least rest with him. You both need it. You did good today Castiel.” Anna said, touching his hand.

He looked into her eyes for a long moment before finally nodding. She sighed with relief as he reclined his body on the bed beside Dean. Jess disappeared into the bathroom and came back with a washcloth. Cas watched closely as she washed the blood off of Dean’s face and torso.

“We’ll be around if you need us.” Anna said as Sam ushered them out of the room.

Castiel nodded simply and they all noted with satisfaction that his eyes slid closed as they turned the light off and shut the door. Before Anna could wander off, Sam stopped her.

“Anna we need you to do something.” He said.

She stared at him expectantly as Jess gave him a questioning look.

“We need you to get into Zachariah’s head.”

\----------

Dean slowly regained consciousness. The first thing he felt was a lack of pain that surprised him. He experimentally flexed his muscles to ensure that his pain was gone. Then he felt the warmth surrounding him. At first he thought that he was covered in blankets on his bed. That was when he realized that it was not the cotton sheets surrounding him. His eyes opened and he found himself with a face full of black feathers. He opened his mouth to talk and blew air out to force the feathers away from him.

“Cas?” he said, confused.

The wings suddenly twitched around him and instead of releasing him, pulled him in closer to the warm body that he realized was next to him. Cas’s arms were wrapped around his torso like a vice and Dean realized with burning cheeks that he was only wearing boxers. The angel was fully dressed but that didn’t help much, especially when the light touches of the feathers on his body and the feeling of the angel next to him brought certain reactions out of him.

“Hey Cas?” Dean said again.

The angel muttered something before shifting next to Dean, bringing his leg in contact with Dean’s thighs and, more importantly, his burgeoning erection. The human groaned and tried to shift away but the wings didn’t give him any room for movement. Castiel, who Dean knew was asleep by now, let out a whining noise and pulled Dean back in. Dean held back the noises that his body wanted to make when Cas’s leg once again brushed against his boxers.

“Cas!” Dean hissed, putting his hand up on the angel’s chest.

His fingers clenched in the fabric and he shook him as hard as he could in that position. Castiel let out a gasp and jerked awake, his movement once again causing his body to brush against Dean’s arousal.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean growled, pushing away as hard as he could.

Castiel flailed away, his wings snapping out and releasing Dean at the exact same moment that he pushed off of him. He tumbled backwards onto the bed and immediately turned over, sitting up with his back facing Cas. He bent over and shoved the heels of his hands into his eyes.

“Orioles, Braves, Red Sox, Marlins, Yankees, Mets, Rangers, White Sox, Phillies…” he began reciting in a whisper, trying to get his mind off of the blood rushing to his lower body.

“Dean?” Castiel murmured sleepily, confusion in his tone.

He faltered in his recitation, the sound of Cas’s gravelly voice not helping his situation at all.

“Indians, Royals, Reds, Brewers, Pirates, Cubs, Twins, Tigers, Cardinals…”

“Dean? Are you all right?” Cas asked, sounding more awake and concerned.

“Astros, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Angels, Giants, Padres, Mariners, Athletics, Dodgers…” he struggled to say the rest of the information that was trapped in the back of his mind from his father’s obsession with the sport of baseball when he wasn’t torturing angels and demons.

Castiel reached out and put his hand on his bare shoulder. Dean shuddered and moved away from his touch, his problem still very existent and getting worse. There was silence for a few moments as the human tried to distract himself. When he realized that Castiel stopped trying to get his attention, he dared to turn his head. The angel was recoiling from Dean and looking at the comforter with a confused and slightly devastated expression. Dean sighed and cursed his perverted libido as well as his inability to talk to Cas with the state he was in.

“Cas, it’s all right. I’m just… distracted.” He said, trying to keep his lower body turned away from the angel.

“I apologize for embracing you as you slept. You were shivering but you refused to let go of me long enough to let me put you under the blankets. I decided that my wings would have to serve as good enough heat for you.”

“They were fine, Cas. You didn’t do anything wrong I just…” Dean sighed heavily. “I’m having a bit of a… hard… time here.”

Castiel looked up at him with confusion.

“Did I not heal everything? Are you in pain?” he asked, moving forward to inspect Dean’s body.

“No, Cas I’m fine.” Dean refused, his eyes widening as he didn’t want Cas to see his body’s automatic reaction to their closeness.

“Dean you were severely injured.” Cas said, struggling to turn him around so that he could check him over. “If you’re in pain you need to let me heal you.”

“Cas, I’m all right!” he argued, struggling to stay facing forward.

“Just let me….” Cas began to reply.

“Castiel! I’m…” Dean choked off when Castiel finally turned him around and his eyes began searching him. “Oh fuck!”

The curse slipped out of his mouth before he could help it as the angel’s eyes fell on his tented boxers. The blue depths widened and Castiel froze, staring at his lap without blinking. His hands were on Dean’s upper arms holding him in a vice-like grip.

“Cas…” Dean tried to pull away but he held him in place.

The angel’s eyes lifted to look at him. Suddenly he was leaning in and his lips pressed to Dean’s softly. He was taken by surprise and he froze before leaning forward and returning the kiss. Before he knew it, Castiel was pushing him back gently onto the bed. His hand drifted down and suddenly it was laying on his upper thigh. Dean jerked away from him and pushed him up.

“Cas stop, what are you doing?” he demanded, his hand wrapping around his wrist to pull his hand away.

“You are aroused.” Cas said simply, moving back down to kiss him.

Dean recoiled from him.

“Stop!” he said forcefully.

Castiel finally jerked away with wide eyes. Dean planted his hands on his chest and shoved him backwards, scrambling off the bed. He grasped his jeans, ignoring the blood-splatters on them. Dean didn’t dare to look at the bed as he yanked them on, his erection quickly diminishing in the after effects of what he just witnessed.

“Dean…” Cas said quietly.

“Don’t… just, don’t.” Dean said, shaking his head as he looked around for his shirt.

At that moment, the door opened and Sam and Anna walked in. They stopped short when they saw the scene in front of them. Castiel was sitting in the middle of the bed looking ruffled and Dean was putting on his clothes. Both of their lips were swollen and skin was flushed from their actions.

“Dean...” Sam said, looking hesitant.

The older brother immediately knew what the younger was thinking.

“Don’t, Sam… don’t say it… don’t even think it.” Dean snapped out.

“I’m not…” he began.

“You know that I would never…” Dean didn’t finish, pointing at his brother before shaking his head and shoving the shirt over his head.

When he surfaced, he saw Anna putting her arm around Castiel as he stared at Dean with wide, soulful eyes.

“Dean…” the dark-haired angel said quietly.

Dean turned to Sam, unwilling to deal with what just happened.

“Where is Zachariah?” he demanded.

“In the basement. That’s what I needed to talk to you about.” Sam said, following Dean as he walked out of the room, narrowly missing bumping into Ruby as she sulked past them.

“Save it, Sammy. I’m not in the mood for you to make sense right now. We’re not releasing him, if we do he’ll just run to the authorities and bring him right to our doorstep.” Dean said, stomping down the stairs.

“That’s not what I…” Sam began.

“I just need to talk to the bastard.” Dean cut him off, continuing through the house to the basement.

“Dean if you would just…” the younger brother said, jogging to keep up with his fast walking.

Dean slammed through the door of the basement and hurried down the steps, immediately catching sight of Zachariah tied up in a chair in the middle of the room.

“Dean!” Sam caught his arm and whirled him around.

“Just stop, Sam.” Dean fired back, shoving him away and turning to stomp up to the auction house owner.

“Well well well…” Zachariah said, grinning at Dean around his blood-encrusted and broken nose. “Look who’s all healed up. You mind getting me some of that angel mojo?”

Dean bent over, fisting his hand in Zachariah’s shirt.

“You listen to me you sick son of a bitch, you are never ever going to even see Castiel’s face again. You’ll be lucky if your ugly ass ever leaves this room. Once you’re no longer of use to us I might just blow your brains out with a shotgun.” He growled in his face.

Zachariah laughed at him, stirring up Dean’s fury even more.

“What is it? Did Castiel refuse to let you fuck him? I’ll tell you a secret, Dean. If you just get a hold of those wings and force him on the ground, he does the rest for you. He acts like he doesn’t want it but the little whore sticks his ass up in the air and lets you take whatever you want from him. Works like a charm.” He said tauntingly.

Dean’s vision went red and his restraint broke. His hand suddenly wrapped around Zachariah’s throat and he tightened his grip immediately. The man began to choke and redden but Dean didn’t stop.

“You won’t touch any other angels or demons. You won’t kill any other angels or demons. You won’t take my angel away from me, not again you fucking asshole! I won’t make the same mistake again! I’ll keep this one safe from you, Dad!” He spat in the man’s face as he choked the life out of him.

Dean didn’t realize the slip-up until it was too late and he faltered in his actions. He heard his name being yelled distantly but he ignored it. When he felt arms trying to drag him away from Zachariah, he withstood them, refusing to let go of his throat. Finally he was dragged away and he heard the auction house owner gasping for breath. A roar of fury ripped out of his chest and he fought against Sam and Brady as they dragged him away from the tied up man. Zachariah was laughing hoarsely as they pulled him up the stairs. When they were out of the basement, Sam hauled Dean around and threw him against the wall.

“What the hell were you thinking?” the younger brother demanded in a shout as Dean staggered and regained his footing to keep from falling to the floor.

“Don’t act like that dick didn’t deserve to die!” Dean yelled back, his fury still driving him.

 “We need information from him, Dean! That’s what I was trying to tell you! Anna was able to get into his mind and she got some glimpses at things that he knows! But we need him!” Sam said, his eyes wide as he gestured wildly to the basement.

Dean turned away from Sam, facing the wall and putting his elbows on it. He rested his forehead against the cool plaster as he huffed his way through breathing.

“Dean…” Sam sighed, his anger dropping as he watched his brother.

He reared back and suddenly his fist connected with the wall, denting it with the force as his skin broke and left a smear of blood.

“Fuck!” he yelled loudly as he punched it again.

“Dean!” Sam launched forward to pull him away from it as he hit it over and over to release his thirty-two years of pent-up anger.

He let out a yell of pain, rage, and anguish as his fist connected with the wall over and over again. Finally he let Sam pull him away and that was when he realized that tears were streaming down his face. Dean pushed away from his brother and turned to walk away. That was when he saw Castiel standing there looking horrified and terrified with his own eyes brimming with tears. Dean stopped short and suddenly he felt the pain radiating through his hand and arm. He turned his head and saw the damage he did to the wall. There were several holes in it and his blood was smeared and splattered all over it.

Dean looked back as he felt self-hatred and horror over his actions. Jess stepped forward to comfort him with a sad look but he hurried past her, breaking out into a run as he fled from the house and into the trees without a second thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel calms Dean and they finally give into their feelings for one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is consensual sexual content in this chapter. I will put up warnings in case you want to skip it.

He crashed through the trees clumsily, ignorant of the branches whipping his face and the chill of the night seeping through his thin t-shirt. When Dean reached the clearing, he collapsed onto his knees in the very spot that he was certain Lisa was killed by his father’s goons. He bent over, his elbows digging into the ground as he buried his head in his hands. He ignored the pain in his knuckles as tears continued falling down his face. Suddenly, like a ghost, he felt a whisper of a touch on his back, a hand drifting through his hair.

_“Dean.”_

The voice echoed around him and he looked up, the memories swirling around in his head. Suddenly he was sitting in the clearing with Lisa.

_She smiled up at him, her hair ruffled by the light wind and her light yellow sundress standing out in the dark green meadow._

_“I think Sammy knows about us.” He said, reaching out to take her hand._

_Concern flashed through her eyes._

_“He won’t tell anyone.” She said worriedly._

_“No, Sam knows that Dad can’t find out. He’ll keep it a secret.” Dean said confidently._

_“He’s only thirteen, Dean. You have to make sure or else… or else we can’t see each other anymore.”_

_Dean looked at her with wide eyes, shaking his head._

_“No, Lis. It won’t come to that I promise. Sammy’ll keep quiet. He will, I know it. He’s a naïve kid sometimes but he knows about Dad and what he does. He hates it as much as I do.” He tried to convince her._

_“Dean, you know that I love you and that I never want to stop this. I want to be with you forever. But if it’s safest for both of us… maybe we should just give it a rest for a while. I know your father is suspicious of where you keep disappearing. I heard him talking about it with his head of security.” She said, stroking his cheek with her other hand. “I just don’t want to get you into trouble. I know what your father… I know that he gets violent. I can’t stand to see that happen to you. We need to be smart.”_

_“We will be, Lisa. I promise nothing will happen. But we’ll stand through this, together.” Dean said convincingly._

_She sighed and smiled._

_“There’s the Dean that I know.” She said, her eyes shining._

_Dean frowned, his brow furrowing. This was not how he remembered this happening._

_“What happened to you? Why don’t you think like this anymore? For you it’s just do whatever it takes but you still might fail? You used to think that everything was possible.” Lisa said._

_Dean suddenly realized that he must have been dreaming._

_“Lisa…” he sighed, clutching at her. “You died. I lost everything when you died. You were my… you were my future. My everything.”_

_She smiled and put both of her hands on his face._

_“I was but that doesn’t mean that I have to be anymore. You have done so much good ever since my death. You promised me that you would find a way to free the angels and demons and you haven’t given up. Sam and Jess and all the rest of the creatures that you house fuel your mission to free them but that’s not the catalyst and neither am I. You know who started all of this. Castiel is here for you now. He’s not as broken and unable to make decisions as you think he is. He’s strong and powerful and he knows what he wants. You can’t keep pushing him away because if you do, he’ll go away. I want you to be happy, Dean. For you, Castiel is that happiness. Let him in. Show him that there can be a relationship between you two without him having to please you all the time. Give him everything and he’ll do it in return.” Lisa said, stroking his cheek._

_“I love you.” Dean sighed, realizing that she was right about everything._

_Lisa smiled and leaned in, brushing her lips over his._

_“You love him.” she whispered, pressing their mouths together once more._

Dean jerked out of his sleep to realize that a warm mouth was still pressed against his. His eyes flashed open and he saw Castiel pull away. He realized that he was lying on the forest floor and his head was cradled in Cas’s hands.

“What happened?” he grumbled, pressing a hand to his aching head.

“I believe that you fell and hit your head. You passed out.” Castiel said, his cheeks slightly pink.

Dean frowned and moved to sit up, realizing that Cas must have healed his head and his hands.

“You kissed me while I was unconscious?” he asked, looking over at him.

Castiel blushed further and averted his eyes.

“Cas? Why did you kiss me?” Dean questioned.

He sighed and looked back at him unwillingly.

“You were speaking in your sleep.” He admitted.

Dean’s eyes widened and he realized that he might have said some things about Lisa. But that didn’t explain why Cas was kissing him.

“What did I say?” He asked warily.

Castiel leaned in and pressed a hand to Dean’s head. Suddenly, he gasped as an image filled his head. He was seeing himself from Castiel’s eyes. His head was cradled in his lap as he healed him. Dean was unconscious but he was twitching and his mouth was moving.

_“You’re my future… my everything.”_

The words reached his ears but he knew that Castiel heard him. They weren’t the same words he spoke in the dream but somehow they seemed to make perfect sense to Dean because he didn’t see any lies within them.

 _“Castiel…”_ he breathed the words out along with the vision of himself dreaming.

The words awakened something within him and somehow he knew what was going to happen next.

_“I love you, Cas.”_

The declaration escaped from his mouth before he could help it and Dean didn’t have much time to react before Cas was on him again. Their lips pressed together and this time Dean responded in kind. The angel’s arms encircled his neck and he was practically straddling Dean’s lap as they embraced. Dean stroked Cas’s hair as he nibbled on his bottom lip. The angel gasped and pressed into him. Before he knew it, Dean was reacting to the warmth between them and his cheeks flushed as blood rushed to his lower half.

“Cas… Cas I…” he tried to pull away.

“Don’t… stop pulling away. Stop trying to stop me. I want this and I don’t want you to feel like you’re forcing me into anything. For the first time in a long time I’m trying to do what I want to do. Unless you don’t want this to happen, because I’m not going to force you to do anything, stop trying to make this not happen.” Castiel said roughly.

“Cas… hell I want this to happen.” Dean groaned, leaning into him. “I just don’t want to move too fast. You’ve had a lot of shit happen to you and I just…”

He was silenced by Castiel kissing him once again. His protests were lost when he kissed down his jawline to his throat and attacked the skin there. Dean whimpered when he rocked against him and his eyes shot open when he felt the evidence of Cas’s arousal pressed right up against his own erection.

“Fuck… Cas.” Dean sighed, running his hands through the angel’s dark hair. “I can’t… I can’t do this.”

Castiel pulled away with a hurt expression on his face but he looked like he understood.

“I should have known, Dean. I am aware that I am damaged goo…”

Dean had his finger over his mouth with fury flashing through his eyes.

“Don’t you even say the words.” He snapped, causing Castiel to widen his eyes in surprise. “I meant that I can’t do this here… sex in the woods is not comfortable. You get sticks and leaves in weird places and there’s bugs and the birds are all watching you and chirping.”

Castiel relaxed and looked at Dean with a slight smile. Then he dove in again and shoved his finger aside as he attacked his mouth.

“Cas…” Dean groaned against his mouth. “You’re kinda… defeating the purpose… of my objection…” he fought out between lengthy kisses.

Suddenly the angel’s arms tightened around his torso and he felt his wings outstretch. Suddenly, with the sound of his wings fluttering, they were no longer sitting on the forest floor. They were in the middle of Dean’s bed still tangled around each other. The human looked around with shock before glancing back at Castiel.

“How in the hell…?”

Cas grinned at him.

“My powers are coming back. The more that I use them, the stronger I grow. We have to tell all of the angels and demons. If they just use their powers, they’ll be powerful again. That is how we fight this battle. That’s how we defeat the humans and take back our freedom.”

Dean grinned and reached out, stroking his cheek.

“We’ll spark a revolution tomorrow, General Castiel… but right now we have other business to attend to.”

Cas smiled as well, blushing as he leaned forward, rocking against Dean and causing the human to groan and curse.

“That business?” the angel questioned, a smirk on his face.

Dean laughed and shook his head, reaching up to cup his cheek.

“Yeah, that business you sarcastic little…”

He was cut off by Castiel kissing him once more. He pushed Dean back onto the bed and hovered over him. His lips once again began attacking Dean’s throat as he fought to yank his t-shirt up. Dean stopped him and pushed him away slightly.

“No, Cas… that’s now how this is going to go.” he said softly.

The angel looked at him with confusion.

“We’re going to do this the right way or not at all. You aren’t a slave who’s here to please me. We’re partners who please each other. I’m going to show you that it’s not only my pleasure that’s important. In fact, right now… my pleasure is low on the list of things I’m worried about.”

“What are you worried about?” Cas asked, still confused.

Dean leaned in, pressing his lips to Cas’s as he carefully maneuvered them around to get Cas to lie on his back. The angel tensed before Dean slowly kissed his cheeks, his eyelids, his nose, his chin, his jaw.

“You… your pleasure… your happiness. I’m worried about loving you as much as I can so that you know that it’s never going to be about just my pleasure. It’s about both of us.” Dean murmured, skimming his hands up Cas’s side to slowly bunch up his shirt.

** SMUT BEGINS HERE IF YOU WANT TO SKIP IT **

Castiel stared up at him for a moment with wide eyes before suddenly his shirt disappeared, leaving his torso bare. Dean stared with surprise as his hands hit warm, bare flesh. A grin broke out on the angel’s face and he reached up, pulling the human down to him. Their lips met gently as Dean slowly began to explore Cas’s torso. When they reached his hips, he held onto them as his lips trailed down Cas’s jawline. The angel let out a sigh as he mouthed at his throat. Dean didn’t feel the need to move quickly. He kissed every inch of skin he could find as he drifted lower. When he got to Cas’s chest, he glanced up at the angel before he blew on one of his already erect nipples.

The angel’s eyes widened in surprise as a low moan escaped from his mouth and his hips thrusted upwards. Dean smiled and his lips closed around it. Castiel whined and his head fell back as Dean teased him, his tongue circling the sensitive area and his other hand sliding up to gently pinch and roll the other nipple between his finger and thumb. Castiel thrashed underneath him, trying to get more friction. Dean’s other hand went to his pants and began to undo his button. Before he knew it, he hit bare skin once again. He chuckled and lifted his head to look at the angel who was taking in heaving breaths and looking down at him with darkened, lust-filled eyes.

“Getting eager, are we?” he murmured, sliding his hand up to smooth his thumb over Cas’s swollen lips.

Cas parted his lips and kissed it. Dean smiled and his other hand drifted lower to slide down his thigh. The angel kept staring at him but his breath caught in his throat as Dean teased him, touching everywhere except for the one place he was dying to be touched. Dean laughed and his hand moved up, finding Castiel’s swollen flesh. When his fingers enclosed around it, Cas let out a cry and his hips automatically bucked up. Dean experimentally swept his thumb over the tip of his cock to find that it was leaking pre-cum. He smoothed the liquid over his palm and began to slide his hand up and down the length.

Castiel reacted immediately, his wings flying out and stretching as far as they could. His body trembled and writhed on the bed. Dean furrowed his brow and tilted his head to the side. When he stroked the tip again, Cas thrusted upwards and let out a low whine. He drew away and removed his hand. Castiel opened his eyes and panted as he stared up at Dean, a question in his eyes as to why he stopped.

“Cas… you’ve never… no one’s ever done this for you, have they?”

The angel hesitated before shaking his head.

“Like you said, it was never about my pleasure. I’ve done everything to give someone else pleasure. But…”

“… you’ve never received any in return.” Dean realized, heaving a big sigh.

Castiel moved to sit up.

“Dean… I’m sorry.” He said, sounding regretful.

The human frowned up at the angel.

“Why are you sorry?” he asked, confused.

“I’m just… I don’t… because.” Castiel said, unsure of why he apologized.

Dean shook his head and lifted up to kiss the angel deeply.

“I’m not upset. It’s just a lot of pressure.” He explained once he pulled away.

“Pressure?” Cas questioned, tilting his head.

Dean nodded and sliding his entire body down Cas’. The angel understood as soon as his hand returned to his erection, his thumb sweeping over the tip before he slowly pumped it a few times. Castiel was intent on watching until he saw Dean descending upon him. When his lips touched the tip, the angel was gone. His entire body slumped backwards. His hips jerked upwards when Dean’s tongue flicked out over the slit, tasting him. Dean’s other hand planted in the middle of his stomach to keep him down.

Castiel let out a shout and his hands clenched in the blankets of the bed. Dean felt satisfaction as a litany of noises began escaping from Cas’s mouth. His mouth descended further as his lips closed around his teeth. Cas’s hands dropped down and slid into the human’s short hair. Dean froze for a moment, waiting to see what Cas would do. Instead of pushing his head down, Cas simply stroked his hair softly. He relaxed and his hand wrapped around the girth of his cock just below his mouth. He took a deep breath through his nose and began bobbing up and down as his tongue slid over the vein on the underside.

Castiel was practically sobbing at the feeling, every part of his body flailing except for his hips and his legs so that he wouldn’t harm Dean. When he felt soft caressing, Dean realized that Cas’s wings were folding forward to lay over him softly. Castiel seemed to realize what was happening and he snapped them back. His hands went to the blankets again and as Dean swept his tongue over the tip of his cock, he heard a shattering sound. His eyes widened and he looked up to see that the light of the lamp on his bedside table exploded.

Castiel looked guilty as he glanced over at it too. Dean took the chance to take him in. His cheeks were flushed and his chest was heaving with breaths. He looked beautiful and Dean couldn’t help but want to give him every bit of pleasure that he could.

“I’m sorry, Dean.” He said, looking back at him.

The human grinned before dipping lower.

“Don’t worry about it, Cas.” He said before continuing his earlier actions.

Castiel let out a loud moan and another shattering sound filled the room. Dean’s own erection throbbed as moans and pleas for more escaped from the angel’s mouth in his gravelly voice. He was tempted to please himself but he remembered his vow to give Castiel pleasure before himself. He bobbed faster, pumping Castiel’s cock quickly with his saliva easing the way. Castiel began chanting his name eagerly, his body tensing as he grew closer and closer to completion.

Dean felt his erection twitching in his mouth and he drew away, moving up Cas’s body to kiss him deeply as his hand continued to stimulate him. Castiel responded, his wings wrapping around Dean eagerly and his tongue delving into his mouth, tasting himself on Dean’s tongue. When his body began spasming, his head fell to Dean’s shoulder and his hips drove up. Liquid spilled out over Dean’s hand and onto the angel’s stomach as the sound of glass exploding filled the room. Dean laid him back and kissed him softly as Cas came down from his high slowly. When his eyes finally opened, Dean smiled down at him.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“Amazing.” Castiel breathed, reaching up to stroke Dean’s cheek.

He grinned and pulled away.

“Where are you going?” the angel asked, confused.

“Washing up.” Dean said, holding up his soiled hand.

Castiel grasped him and before he knew it, his hand was clean as well as the angel’s stomach. He was suddenly flipped onto his back and Cas attacked him hungrily, his lips teasing his neck. Dean felt his clothes disappearing but he could barely find the will to stop the angel. Finally he managed to lift his head.

“Cas you don’t have to do this. It isn’t some repayment. I am happy with just…” his words were muffled by Cas kissing him deeply before pulling away.

“I want to do this, it has nothing to do with repayment. I want to see you come undone, I want to hear you call my name, and I want to taste you on my tongue.” Castiel whispered in his ear.

Dean groaned and felt a pulse of lust run through his body.

“Well damn, Cas. All you had to do was…” Dean cut off, choking on air as Castiel took hold of his swollen cock. “… a-ask.”

The angel smiled as he pulled Dean to the edge of the bed and collapsed to his knees on the ground.

“No, Cas I don’t want you…” Dean began to refuse.

“I want to.” Cas cut him off, his wings lifting and laying on the bed on either side of Dean as his hands took hold of Dean’s knees.

Dean’s head tossed back when Castiel leaned in and took an experimental lick. He watched Dean carefully for a moment, his body tensed as if waiting to be forced down before he relaxed and closed his mouth over the tip. Dean groaned and his hand came up. Castiel fought the urge to flinch but his muscles drained of tension when Dean laid his hand on the back of his neck and stroked his hair softly and gently, letting him take his time.

Every nerve in Dean’s body was screaming for him to thrust up and demand more but he kept himself still as evidence by the quivering in his muscles. His eyes were squeezed shut and his other hand clenched in the blankets. Cas slid his cock further into his mouth and his tongue teased the vein on the underside of Dean’s length as he sank lower and lower. , causing Dean to let out a moan before biting his lip hard enough to tear the skin. A drop of blood squeezed out as his hand moved lower. Castiel let out a slight yelp as Dean’s hand slid into his feathers. The human’s head snapped up as Castiel pulled away and stared up at him with wide, apologetic eyes. Dean began to remove his hand but Cas caught it, holding it in place.

“Zachariah used to hurt me, pull my feathers and even yank them out sometimes.” He admitted in a quiet voice.

“I’ll never do that to you, Cas. I’ll never hurt you.” Dean promised.

The angel looked up at him with his big blue eyes.

“I know.” He said.

Dean watched with a wary look as Cas returned his attention to his arousal. His lips closed over him again and he slid down once again, bobbing up and down eagerly while he was careful to make sure his lips covered his teeth so that he wouldn’t hurt Dean. The hunter hesitated before sliding his other hand into Cas’s wings. He stroked them softly as he kept his head up to watch Castiel for any sign of discomfort. His body was spasming with pleasure but he barley managed to keep his eyes on Cas.

His hands stroked through the feathers, not yanking them but simply letting them run through his fingers. As his pleasure increased from Castiel’s actions, words and moans fell out of his mouth like crazy. His eyes were alternating between squeezing shut as pulses of pleasure ran through his body and wide open so he could glance down at what the other man was doing.

When Castiel’s eyes lifted to stare deep into his, Dean couldn’t tear his gaze away. He stroked through the angel’s wings and Castiel arched his back towards the movement, letting out a noise of pleasure at the feeling that even surprised him. The vibrations in his throat caused Dean to gasp. When his stomach began coiling and his erection twitched in Cas’s mouth, he knew that he was close and had to let the other man know.

“Cas…” he pushed at his shoulders. “Cas I’m close… I can’t… you don’t have to…”

Castiel shoved his hands away and continued, gripping Dean’s thighs as he gave his cock his full attention. Dean threw his head back and let out a lustful moan.

“Cas… fucking hell I can’t… you are… fuck!” he stammered, unable to form a thought.

Castiel hollowed out his cheeks and pulled as much of Dean’s length into his mouth as he could, not flinching at all when the tip hit the back of his throat. That was the last straw for the human. He let out a yell as his body exploded, his nerves all on fire as squirmed and writhed underneath the angel. Castiel didn’t hesitate, swallowing all of the liquid that streamed down his throat. As he came down from his high and Castiel pulled back, Dean let his body fall back onto the bed, panting and fighting back a huge grin.

Castiel crawled up the bed and collapsed next to Dean, his head on the human’s chest as he listened to his thumping heart. His hand sprawled over his stomach and his wings laid over them both. Dean sighed and his arm wrapped around Castiel’s lower back. His other hand went into the angel’s wings and he stroked the feathers softly.

“That was… awesome.” He breathed.

“I agree.” Castiel said, sounding happy.

That sent a wave of satisfaction through Dean that the angel was happy. If that’s truly how it made Cas feel, then sex wasn’t a problem for Dean. The second that it became less than good for the angel, he would put an end to it immediately. Castiel sighed happily and let a smile form on his face.

“Dean?” he said, lifting his head and glancing at the human.

“Yeah, Cas?” Dean said, looking back down at him.

The angel hesitated before smiling, his eyes sparkling.

“I love you too.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Sam follow a lead from Zachariah's head that leads them to a surprising ally. They discover a new danger to their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is going to be a character that is canonically not human but just like Zachariah I made him human in this story. You’ll see who it is soon enough.

“Apple pie. Oh man you gotta try apple pie.” Dean said, stroking Cas’s arm as the angel was splayed across his chest. 

The blankets were pulled up to their hips and they were lying on the bed lazily and still naked, their legs entangled. 

“If I try everything on your list of foods, I’ll be eating for the rest of my life.” Castiel said dryly, tracing patterns onto Dean’s abdomen.

Dean huffed and glanced down at him.

“You’re immortal.” He reminded the angel, a hint of bitterness in his voice at the thought.

Castiel didn’t reply, hesitating in his movements before continuing them.

“Not if I don’t choose to be.” he said quietly.

Dean’s brow furrowed and he lifted his head.

“What do you…” he was cut off by a knock on the door before it opened.

Jess stepped in and let out a cry of surprise before turning her back. Meg and Ruby were behind here sporting matching smirks.

“Told you they were in here.” Ruby said, sounding amused.

“They were making all kinds of noise.” Meg commented as Dean and Castiel flushed.

“All right thank you, you can go now.” Jess sighed, shooing them off before turning back with flaming cheeks and an exasperated look.

Her eyes casted around the room and she caught sight of all of the broken glass that littered the floor.

“What happened?” she asked, walking into the room and sidestepping the glass despite the shoes that were on her feet.

Dean smirked as Cas hid his face in his chest.

“Castiel got a little excited.” 

Jess furrowed her brow at them.

“Oh?” she remembered that they were naked and flushed even redder. “Oh!” 

Dean chuckled as Castiel pinched him lightly and turned his head to face Jess, as red as she was.

“I’m sorry, Jessica.” He said solemnly.

She shook her head, stepping forward as she waved his apology off.

“It’s nothing to apologize for, though I imagine that you’re going to be doing a lot of apologizing for that oaf in the years to come.” Jess said knowingly, shooting Dean a fake glare as he grinned proudly, squeezing Cas to him.

“Hey! Don’t make me look bad in front of my angel.” Dean admonished her, unable to keep his happiness from his face.

Jess laughed and shook her head.

“I don’t think I could do that if I tried.” She admitted, noticing the adoration on Cas’s face as he glanced up at Dean. “You’ve charmed him too much for anyone to turn him on you.” 

Dean glanced down at Cas and his look mirrored the angel’s, love and tenderness filling it.

“Anyways, I came to tell you that Anna found something in Zachariah’s head. We’ll be in the community room after you two get dressed. Sam thinks it’s time to tell everyone what’s going on since there have been far too many secrets in this house lately. They’re also going to want to know how you managed to get from the forest to here without walking through the front door considering that there was someone standing guard and waiting for you to come trudging out of the forest.” she informed them.

“A guard? Since when have we had a guard?” Dean questioned, sitting up along with Castiel, who stretched both his arms and his wings out a far as they would go before wrapping them around the human lazily and laying his head on his shoulder.

Dean relaxed into the embrace, the lines of his face smoothing out as his frown disappeared. Jess smiled warmly at the sight before remembering the question.

“Since you decided to kidnap a prominent member of society.” She reminded him before turning to walk out. 

The older Winchester huffed and twitched his lips from side to side as his mind whirled with thoughts.

“Dean?” Cas said, gaining his attention. “Are you all right?”

He sighed and nodded, pulling the angel in for a long kiss as his hand slid into his already messy dark hair.

“Let’s get dressed.” Dean said, sliding the blankets off of them.

Castiel pulled his wings away and both stood. Dean tiptoed over the glass to his dresser and pulled out new boxers before going to his closet and finding a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He slipped the black shirt over his head and turned to Cas to see him standing by the door fully dressed and waiting. His eyes narrowed and he shook his head as he shoved his socked feet into boots.

“That’s cheating.” He informed the angel.

“It’s using the abilities I have to my advantage and there is nothing wrong with that.” Castiel replied with a slight smile.

Dean gazed up at him, marveling over the change in the angel since they got him from Zachariah. He was relieved that it didn’t take months or even years for the healing to begin and he was even more relieved that Cas allowed him to be close to him. He crossed to the door and held out his hand. He knew that when they first took Castiel home, the angel would flinch away at any offer of contact. Warmth filled Dean when Cas reached out and took his hand without hesitation and a smile.

“I love you.” he said, the words both foreign and comfortable on his lips.

The angel’s smile grew and his wings fluttered happily at the words.

“I love you too.” Castiel said honestly, squeezing Dean’s hand lightly.

The human grinned and leaned in, giving Castiel a quick peck on the cheek before they walked out of the room and down the hall.

\----------

Anna, Sam, and Jess were waiting for them at the door. The demons and angels were waiting inside all gathered on the couches and chairs.

“You all right now?” Sam asked, looking at his older brother with a hint of concern.

“Yeah.” Dean nodded, looking down. “Just some unresolved issues in my head that are resolved now.”

The younger brother nodded as well, understanding exactly what Dean was talking about.

“What did you find?” Dean asked Anna.

“I’ll tell you in a minute. First you’re telling them what’s going on because their imagination is running wild with everything that’s happened and they deserve an explanation.” The redheaded angel instructed him, pointing at the gathered angels and demons.

Dean sighed heavily before moving into the room, still pulling Castiel right along with him. All of the beings stopped talking as Dean stood before them. Cas looked uncertain about whether or not to remain at Dean’s side or to sit with his fellow angels and the demons. Dean squeezed his hand comfortingly before clearing his throat and turning back to the others.

“I know that a lot of stuff has been going on in the past few days and I’m sorry for the secrecy but it’s been… insane.” He began. “Most of you probably know that we have someone in the basement though I’m not sure if you know who it is. You don’t have to be concerned, we have the situation under control but we have to move quickly. A few months ago, Sam and I discussed what would happen to you after our deaths because let’s face it, we’re not immortal like you guys. Neither of us could come up with a situation that would ensure your safety. I had a spark of an idea but it was lost in the fray of the rescues that we were making.” Dean explained.

Every eye remained on him unwaveringly.

“When Castiel came here, it’s like everything was put into perspective for me and I knew that I had to do something. Just keeping you all here for my lifetime isn’t enough. There are hundreds more of you out there in horrible situations and I have to do everything in my power to fix what the humans have done. I talked to Sam and he agreed along with Jess. Right now our plan is to find the archangels.”

A stunned mutter went through the crowd of angels and demons. Castiel’s hand tightened on Dean’s and he glanced at the angel to see him looking hesitant at the idea of it.

“Zachariah Adler, the auction house owner, is downstairs right now. We’re interrogating him and Anna is using her abilities to get into his head. We’re going to figure this out, I promise.” Dean said in conclusion before turning to look at Anna, Jess, and Sam to see if his explanation was satisfying enough.

Sam walked forward and bent down, his mouth at Dean’s ear.

“Zachariah knows where Metatron is.” He whispered almost silently.

Dean drew away with wide eyes before clenching his hand down on Cas’s and dragging him out of the room. The other three followed until they were a safe distance away.

“How does he know? Where is he? How has he not been killed yet? I would have thought that he’d be unpopular among the angels and demons.” Dean hissed.

“Who?” Castiel asked, confused.

“Metatron.” Sam answered.

“Metatron?” the angel asked, shocked.

“Zachariah knew his location. I found it in his mind.” Anna explained.

“Metatron is the one who betrayed the angels, right? He told the humans how to end the war.” Jess said, nodding as she remembered Dean and Sam explaining the story of the archangels to her.

“He’s a traitor.” Castiel said, looking angry at the mere mention of the angel’s name.

“Yeah well he’s a traitor that is certain to lead us to the archangels’ location. He’s the one who told the humans how to defeat them so surely he’s got to know where they are.” Sam said, his eyes bright.

“Where is he?” Dean asked, turning to Anna.

She relayed a location to him, looking satisfied in her ability to get the information out of Zachariah. Dean leaned in and kissed her forehead happily before turning to Sam.

“We have to go immediately.” He said.

“Agreed.” Sam nodded before they turned to walk towards the front door of the house.

“What about me?” Jess and Castiel asked at the same time.

The brothers turned to look at their lovers.

“Hold down the fort?” Dean suggested.

“You can’t honestly expect me to stay behind, Dean.” Castiel argued. “Especially not with the rediscovery of my powers and the fact that you have no idea what you’re marching into. I should come to keep you and Sam safe.” 

“I agree. And take a few others with you too. It won’t hurt for you to have some backup.” Jess nodded.

“This is a guy’s house, right Anna?” Dean asked.

She nodded.

“If he has Metatron, there’s a good chance that he’s a slave owner. It wouldn’t be good for us to go stomping into the guy’s place with a bunch of angels and demons behind us into a slave house. If something goes wrong, they get taken back to the auction house or worse, the training centers.”

Castiel flinched as Anna looked fearful at the thought.

“Sam and I will go, the humans. If we’re caught, we’ll figure something out but I’m not taking the chance that any of our rescues gets caught. That’s not happening.” Dean said forcefully.

Sam sighed and nodded in agreement. They both turned to walk away but Castiel caught his arm.

“Shouldn’t that be a decision that we get to make?” he asked.

Dean looked at him with a furrowed brow before sighing heavily. 

“No, Cas.” He said, shaking his head. “You and everyone else in this house is my responsibility. I have to take care of you and I have to live with the consequences and the guilt if I get you killed. I’ve never lost an angel or a demon since my dad died and I don’t intend to. Sam and I will do this alone.” 

Castiel clenched his jaw and Dean saw a flash of anger in his eyes before it was subdued by a cold expression.

“You’re an idiot, Dean Winchester.” He snapped out before turning around. 

His wing smacked Dean in the arm but he didn’t look back before taking off down the hallway. Anna looked at him sympathetically.

“I’ll go talk to him. You go get ready to leave.” She said softly before turning to walk away.

Jess leaned forward and kissed Sam full on the mouth before kissing Dean on the cheek. She smiled at them both before walking in the same direction as the two angels.

“You love him, don’t you?” Sam asked, turning to glance at Dean.

The older brother sighed before patting his shoulder.

“Yeah, Sammy. I love him.” he admitted.

\----------

They were loading up the Impala with supplies for the half a day long drive as well as their confrontation with whoever had Metatron. Dean ensured that all of his father’s henchmen were gone before his father’s body was six feet under but they kept the weapons around that the men would use to keep the angels and demons in check just in case they needed them. They kept them carefully hidden but they always had the option to use them. At the moment, they were loading duffle bags full of the weapons into the backseat of the Impala.

Once they had it done, Dean turned to see Castiel standing a few feet away from the car watching them.

“Anna and Jess recommended that I come speak to you.” the angel said as Dean walked to him and Sam climbed into the Impala to give them privacy. “I’m still quite angry with you but they said that I wouldn’t want to let you leave without speaking to you.”

Dean reached out and took Castiel’s hand.

“I shouldn’t have talked to you like that.” he admitted, entwining their fingers as he stepped into Cas’s personal space and their faces were only inches apart. “I’m sorry.”

Cas’s face relaxed minutely and he gave Dean’s hand a light squeeze.

“I understand why you would want to keep any of the angels and demons from going but the way you said it… you were taking choice away from me. That scares me, Dean. I’ve lived for too long without having a choice in my life and to have you do that… it just scared me.” he sighed, looking down at the ground.

Dean hesitated as he absorbed Cas’s words. He didn’t think of it that way but now that he went over his words in his head, he knew that’s exactly what he did.

“I’m sorry, Cas. That’s not what I was trying to do. I realize that sometimes my protectiveness can get overbearing but you have to see it from my point of view. From the second I take you away from that auction house, any of you, I take responsibility for you. I am the only thing that stands in the way of you being a slave again and that terrifies me. I have to take every precaution. I have to make sure that everyone is safe because if I fail…” Dean shook his head, his heart pounding in his chest at the mere idea of it.

“If I lose a single one of you to those sadistic bastards… I don’t think I’ll be able to recover. I have to make sure that everyone is safe. That’s why I’m doing this. That’s why I kept you from going. The last time I let you come with me, you got attacked and I got there too late to save you from being hurt. That’s why I want you to stay behind. You’re safe here but I can’t guarantee that you’re safe out there.” He looked deep into the angel’s blue eyes. “I love you, Cas. Because of that I have to know that you’re safe from ever being treated like that again.” 

Castiel sighed and moved in, lifting his other hand to cup Dean’s cheek.

“I love you too, Dean.” He said, his thumb swiping over his cheekbone before he leaned in and kissed him softly.

Dean exhaled against his mouth and leaned in, adding more pressure to the kiss. When he pulled away, Castiel stared deep into his eyes.

“Don’t get hurt.” He said simply.

Dean smiled and stepped back.

“I won’t, I promise.” He vowed before turning back to the car. “Get Anna to help you replace all of the light bulbs in my room. We’ll have to see if we can shatter them all again when I get back.”

Dean winked over his shoulder as Cas flushed and smiled, ducking his head before turning to walk away, his wings brushing the ground. Sam gave Dean a knowingly look as he climbed in the car and he raised his eyebrow.

“What are you looking at?” he grumbled.

“I like this. You’re happy again.” The younger brother answered.

“What are you talking about? I was happy before.” he said, furrowing his brow as the Impala’s engine rumbled to life.

“No, you weren’t.” Sam replied, sounding a little bit sad.

He sighed and glanced over at his brother again.

“I wasn’t unhappy.”

“That’s a lot different than happy. I like that now you have a reason to be happy. I haven’t seen that since…” Sam cut off, looking sadder.

“Lisa?” Dean guessed what he was going to say next.

Sam nodded once and Dean reached over, clapping his brother on the shoulder.

“Thanks, Sammy.” He said, grinning. “I am happy.”

Sam smiled too and reached out, turning on the radio.

“Listen to your outdated tapes, jerk.” He said, ducking his head before looking out the window.

“Bitch.” Dean replied with a chuckle as he reached out and turned the music up to blasting as he tore out of the driveway of their home.

\----------

They pulled up to the house that they were directed to at nine o’clock in the evening. The darkness of the hour didn’t stop them from seeing the impressive size and architecture of the building. 

“Holy shit.” Dean muttered as they climbed out of the car. “What the hell?”

“I don’t know.” Sam replied, joining him at the front of the car as they looked at the massive house.

They owned a large house but it was nothing compared to this one that looked brand new and expensive as hell.

“What does this guy do again?” Dean questioned as they walked up to the large, ornate front door.

“I have no idea.” Sam said, reaching out to knock on the door. 

Moments later, the door was ripped open to reveal a shorter redheaded female standing there with big blue eyes and pale skin. She looked up at them as she leaned against the doorway. 

“Hi… we’re here to…”

“Visitors!” she bellowed, taking them by surprise with her loud voice. 

Dean and Sam stepped backwards with wide eyes as she smirked at them. She stepped away and opened the door wider to reveal a blonde man with artfully tousled hair walking up to them holding a champagne glass in one hand. His eyes flashed between them.

“Hello.” He said with a British accent, shooing the girl away from the door.

“Hey, we’re…”

“I know exactly who you are and you are not welcome here, Winchesters.” The man said.

Dean and Sam stared at him with a hint of shock in their eyes as he looked back and forth between them. Suddenly a grin formed on his face and he chuckled.

“I’m kidding. Of course you’re invited. Come in, make yourselves at home. Mi casa es su casa.” The man said, beckoning them inside.

They walked in and saw their initial greeter sitting on the stairs watching them closely.

“My name is Balthazar. This gem of a creature is Alexis.” He said, gesturing to the redhead.

She grinned and waved her fingers at them.

“She’s got quite the set of lungs on her.” Dean commented.

“Yes, she is quite noisy. I’ve talked to her about it but alas, to no avail. Alexis, go fetch Samandriel.” He instructed.

“Why?” she asked, squinting at him.

“Because I would like his presence. We’ll be in the kitchen.” he replied before turning to the brothers once she darted up the stairs. “Now to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from Dean and Sam Winchester?” 

Balthazar led them out of the gigantic entrance hall and into an equally large kitchen. He beckoned to the built-in bar and slipped behind it.

“Well we…” Dean cut off when the man gestured to his store of drinks on the shelves questioningly. “Whiskey would be great.”

Sam nodded in agreement and Balthazar nodded before picking out his top shelf whiskey and two glasses for them. 

“We’re here to enquire about an angel that we were informed that you have in your possession.” Sam said, leaning forward with clasped hands.

“My possession?” Balthazar asked, glancing between them with confusion. “Are the Winchesters not who I thought they were? I was reliably informed that you don’t believe in the possession of angels and demons.” 

Their eyes widened yet again and they exchanged matching surprised and slightly panicked glances.

“Don’t worry, boys. I’m of the same opinion as you.” Balthazar assured them with a grin as he slid the glasses across the bar to them. “You are quite the revolutionary pair. You’ve got guts too, I like guts. I assume you heard of my ‘possession’ of the angel you’re looking for from Zachariah?” 

“Yeah.” Dean said, picking up his glass and watching as the man stepped around the bar. “How did you know?”

They followed him to a table and they all sat around it.

“I get all of my angels and demons from Zachariah as he is the closest auction house owner. He is the only one who knows which ones that I have. I do not have as many as you do, I’m certain of that. I am all alone in this house and as you well know, it takes a while to get them used to living this life and I don’t have the time or energy to expend on more than a few of them at a time. Perhaps I’ll get more help now that I’m in contact with you boys.”

Dean took a sip of his drink before setting it down.

“You have Metatron, though, right?” he asked.

Balthazar’s amused look faded and he frowned for a moment.

“I knew that this would happen. As soon as I found out who he was… what he’d done… I knew someone would come looking for him for the information that he held. It was a toss up between which side it would be, the authorities or the revolutionaries.” The man sighed, looking wary.

Dean and Sam exchanged a look.

“So he is here.” Sam said.

“Yes, he’s here. I’ve kept him carefully hidden and protected for years.” Balthazar nodded before taking a long drink of his champagne.

“Protected him?” Dean scoffed. “After what he did?”

“Yes, I protected him.” the blonde man said, his frown deepening.

“He betrayed the angels. He directly led to the enslavement of both species.” Sam said, looking stunned and disturbed at the same time.

“And if the angels or demons had won the war, it would have meant the enslavement of humans. Do not forget that the war was for dominion over the earth.” Balthazar reminded them.

“So you’re not on our side?” Dean said, sitting back with a scowl.

“I am but I do not seek to forget the war. They killed as many of us as we have of them. They are the reason that the population of humanity was diminished in the war. Everyone made mistakes. I would do my part to end the unfair slavery of these creatures but I would not assume to think that they are perfectly innocent. They, unlike us, are immortal. Each and every one of them were around for the war.” He said. 

Dean opened his mouth to argue further but they were interrupted by the redhead bounding into the room towing a young blonde angel with sand-colored wings and an adorable look about him. Balthazar smiled at the two as they sat at the table.

“Samandriel, this is Sam and Dean Winchester. I know how much you wanted to meet them.” the man said, introducing them.

“Hello.” He nodded at them. “We saw you at the auction house once. You rescued a good friend of mine, Inias.” 

They both gave him smiles.

“They took one of my friends too, Meg. We didn’t know that they were good at the time so I was pretty resentful for it until I saw the story.” Alexis piped up.

Dean and Sam stared at her with furrowed brows.

“You’re a demon.” Dean said.

She smirked and her eyes flashed back before she blinked them away.

“Yep!” 

They nodded before turning back to Balthazar.

“We need Metatron for his information. We aren’t going to hurt him.” Sam said.

The man looked at them warily as Alexis and Samandriel looked at them questioningly.

“I need to be certain that you aren’t going to hurt him. He is under my protection as your angels and demons are under yours.” Balthazar said, narrowing his eyes at them.

Dean sighed and nodded.

“We’ll play things your way but we need to find out where the archangels are.” 

Alexis gasped as Samandriel leaned forward with a smile.

“You’re going to free them.” he breathed.

They looked at him and nodded. When Dean glanced at the redheaded demon, suddenly something sparked in his mind.

“Wait… what did you mean, the story?” 

Alexis blinked at him as Balthazar leaned forward.

“The news… you’re on it. You’re everywhere, both of you.” he said.

“What?” Sam and Dean demanded at the same time.

Balthazar jumped up and crossed into the kitchen, grabbing a remote and switching on a television on the wall. He flipped to a news channel and sure enough Sam and Dean’s pictures and names were on the screen.

“… suspected of kidnapping auction house owner Zachariah Adler. They are also suspected of treason and harboring slaves to keep them from being sold off to capable owners.” The newswoman said.

“What the hell?” Dean almost yelled, leaping out of his chair in panic.

Sam followed suit, his long limbs flailing as he grasped Dean’s jacket.

“I thought you knew.” Balthazar said, looking at them with wide eyes.

“Sam we have to get home.” Dean said, yanking him towards the door. “We have to get home now.” 

They ran for the door and Balthazar, Alexis, and Samandriel chased after them.

“What’s going on?” Alexis asked.

“They’re going to attack the house.” Dean said, certain of it.

The others looked panicked.

“Samandriel you’re coming with me. Alexis stay here and keep an eye on the others.” Balthazar said, surprising Sam and Dean.

“Why?” Alexis and the brothers asked at once.

“Because I need someone here to take care of them. And I want to help you.” the man answered their question separately.

They hurried out of the house and Balthazar rushed towards his garage.

“Go, I’ll catch up to you.” he called to them as Samandriel followed him.

Dean and Sam bolted for the Impala and the younger brother leapt in. Dean turned his head in time to see Alexis yank Samandriel back and pull him into a passionate kiss. His heart thumped painfully as he realized that he left everyone that he loved, including Cas, at home where they were sitting ducks. He sighed and jumped into the driver’s seat, starting the car and peeling out as quickly as he could.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Sam arrive at the house to find that it's been attacked and Jess and Cas are nowhere to be found.

Dean raced down the road, not even bothering to look back to see if Balthazar was there. Sam didn’t say anything, knowing that there was nothing to say. Both of them were terrified of what they would find at the house. After several hours of driving far too fast, they finally began to near the house with both of their hearts pounding. The first thing they saw was the truck driving towards them filled with men. As they passed, they realized that they recognized the men. Dean glared at Walt who was grinning at him, holding up something that he squinted at before realizing that it was a rose from the front garden that Jess tended along with a few of the angels and demons.

“Dean go faster.” Sam said, panic evident in his voice as they raced down the road.

He pressed the pedal down to the floorboard causing the engine to roar. They saw the pillar of black smoke before they even saw the house.

“Oh my God.” Sam breathed, his fists clenching.

As they squealed into the driveway, they saw that the house was lit up with flames on the first two floors. There was a crowd outside of angels and demons standing close together. Dean and Sam both relaxed a little but leapt out of the car as soon as it was stopped. The group turned towards them, some of them looking singed and others just panicked. Relief showed as they faced them. Dean and Sam patted their shoulders as they passed but their eyes were searching for two certain faces.

“Dean! Sam!” Anna launched at them looking at them with wide, fearful eyes.

“Where’s Cas and Jess?” they demanded at the same time.

Her eyes shone with tears and her lip trembled.

“They’re inside.” she whimpered.

Sam began shoving past everyone towards the door and Dean was hot on his heels. Before they knew it, they were being dragged back by Guy and Inias. They struggled against them with shouts of panic.

“Stop! You can’t go in there!” Anna cried.

“We have to save them!” Sam yelled back, fighting against Guy’s hold on him.

“They’ve been in there for twenty minutes!” Meg hissed, running to shove Dean backwards.

Other angels and demons joined in to hold them back. Finally they gave up the struggle, staring at the house with devastation in their eyes as they watched it. Sam slumped to the ground with tears in his eyes. He looked up at his brother.

“She’s pregnant, Dean.” He whimpered. “She was pregnant.”

Dean choked on his breath as he staggered backwards.

“What happened?” Dean asked, his voice thick with emotion as the others let him go.

“We were all out here but Jess remembered that Zachariah was downstairs. We told her to leave him but she said it wasn’t right and ran in before anyone could stop her. Castiel was off helping Ruby with a burn when he realized that she was gone. He disappeared before we knew what was happening and they haven’t come out since.” Anna murmured, clutching at his arm as tears slipped down her cheeks.

Dean turned his head, looking towards the forest as the smell and scent of the house burning filled his senses. When he looked back, he saw Balthazar and Samandriel standing by their car looking helpless. Suddenly he heard gasps and cries of shock all around them. His head snapped up as well as Sam and they saw two hunched figures that appeared in front of the house. Cas’s arms and wings were wrapped protectively around Jess and both of them were coughing and covered in black soot. Sam leapt to his feet as Dean shoved through the crowd to get to them.

Cas’s wings were singed and burnt in a few places where they could see redness and blisters peeking through the black feathers. Jess was cradling her hand to her chest as they stumbled towards them. Sam yanked her into his arms as soon as they made it to him and they both collapsed to their knees. He pulled her onto his lap and cradled her against his chest. Dean pulled Cas into his arm, burying his face in his neck and holding onto him tightly as Cas slumped into his arms.

“I had to go get her… I had to.” The angel’s voice was rough from the smoke inhalation.

“I’m here, Cas. I’m here.” The human assured him, running his fingers through his hair.

He turned to look at Sam who nodded at him that Jess was all right.

“We have to get out of here.” Dean said, pulling Cas towards the large group of angels.

“I can transport everyone to a safe place.” Castiel offered before coughing a few times.

“No, no you are too weak. We’ll drive.” Dean refused, pulling him to the Impala to lean against the hood.

Castiel reached out and grasped his hand.

“I’m already healing, Dean. They might come back. We have to get out as soon as possible. I can take three of them at a time since the angels can’t transport themselves for now. This has to be done.” He said without any room for argument.

“You can take them to my house.” Dean turned to look at Balthazar as he stepped up to them. “I don’t have many angels and demons myself and you saw that I had plenty of room.”

Dean glanced past him at Sam and Jess who were walking towards them. The others were all watching them waiting for what to do.

“Take them first, Cas.” Dean said, turning to him. “Take them all to Balthazar’s house. He’ll tell you where it is.”

“Dean I can’t leave you here! I have to take you first! I have to make sure that you’re safe!” Castiel argued, shaking his head with panic in his eyes.

“Castiel!” Dean seized his upper arms and stared into his eyes. “I have devoted my life to making sure that they are all as safe as they can be and I am not about to stop! Take them and make sure they’re safe!”

The sound of crashing echoed behind them and he turned to see that the ceiling caved in on the entryway.

“Go Cas.” He said, pulling him towards the others. “Take Sammy and Jess.”

“No, Dean! I’m not leaving you!” Sam argued as Jess clutched to him.

“Yes you are! You are protecting your family! Go!”

Sam stared at him pleadingly but he shook his head.

“Take him, Cas. Both of them.”

Castiel gave him a sad look before grasping Sam and Jess’s shoulders. He nodded at Balthazar as the man informed Cas of the location of his house. Dean watched as they disappeared before slumping back onto the Impala. Anna walked to him and put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him as he watched the home he grew up in burn to the ground.

“Thank you for getting everyone out.” he sighed.

“It wasn’t me, really. Castiel made sure that everyone was safe.” Anna replied, looking down at the ground. “He was a hero.”

Dean nodded, twisting his hands together. He heard a noise and looked up to see that Cas reappeared and was taking more angels and demons. Anna remained beside him as they watched him disappear and reappear several minutes later. The crowd thinned out more and more until it was finally just them two left with Balthazar and Samandriel. The dark-haired angel appeared in front of them and staggered into Dean’s arms, fisting his hands in his jacket and kissing him deeply. Dean responded, pouring his gratitude for Cas saving his family into the embrace as he clutched at the angel’s wings. Castiel winced and jerked away from him with an apologetic look. Dean saw that his wings weren’t quite healed yet.

“They take longer to heal.” He sighed, leaning into Dean again and putting his head on his shoulder.

He turned to Balthazar and nodded at him.

“We have to get out of here.”

Dean helped Cas to the Impala, recognizing that he was weakened. The angel climbed into the backseat, immediately collapsing onto it and laying down. His eyes fluttered closed and Dean leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

“I love you, Cas.” He whispered before pulling away and going to the front seat where Anna was already sitting to drive off with Balthazar following him.

\------------

When they got to the house, Dean helped Cas out. His wings were almost healed but he used a lot of energy to get to Jess and then to take everyone to Balthazar’s house. They walked in and immediately Sam and Jess were there waiting on them, claiming that the others were all milling about the house after Alexis showed them all around. Dean helped Cas sit on the stairs as Anna went to check on the others with Samandriel leading them through the house.

“Balthazar.” Dean said, calling the man over. “This is Sam’s wife, Jess and this is Castiel. This is Balthazar.” He introduced them.

They nodded at him, Castiel with a tired look and Jess with a slight smile.

“What happened?” Dean asked, looking at Jess.

“I don’t really remember how it started. We heard broken glass and then Meg was running through the house warning everyone. We managed to all get out before it spread up the stairs but then I remembered about Zachariah. I didn’t want to leave him down there. He’s a bad person but… but it wasn’t humane. I’m not like that, I can’t just let someone burn to death.” Jess sighed, leaning into Sam as he put his arm over her shoulder. “The flames spread. I could barely get past them into the hallway. I made it to the basement and tried to open it and…”

She held up her hand that was wrapped.

“The doorknob was too hot, it burned me. I took off my jacket and used it to open the door. The fire hadn’t spreaded through there but it was only a matter of time. The ceiling was crumbling because of the fire above it. I ran downstairs and to Zachariah. I was untying him when Castiel appeared.”

Cas lifted his head and sighed.

“The flames were already spreading down the stairs when I arrived.” He explained.

_Castiel looked around wildly before launching over to Jess. His eyes went up to the ceiling and he immediately realized that it was minutes if not moments away from collapsing._

_“We have to leave.” He said, pulling her away from Zachariah who was watching them wordlessly with a smug expression on his face._

_“I can’t leave him, Cas. It’s not right no matter how bad he is.” Jess said, clutching at his shirt before turning back to Zachariah._

_Castiel held her back and glanced at the man with a conflicted look._

_“Oh come on, Castiel. You know what you have to do. You got all the information you wanted from me. It’s time to let me die. It’s time for you to kill me. I know you’ve wanted to do it for years. I saw that spark of rage in your eyes every once in a while when you knew that you had no way to get away from me. I know that you want nothing more than to see me dead so do it. Leave me here to be crushed by the house. Just remember that my blood will be on your hands.”_

_Cas hesitated before pulling Jess closer to him as the ceiling creaked and crumbled above them and he felt the flames singing his wings and clothing._

_“I will show you mercy.” He said, reaching out to touch him and whisk him out of there as well._

_Zachariah looked shocked but a sudden rumbling of the ceiling caused Cas and Jess to pull away._

_“Cas!” Jess whimpered, looking up at him with terrified eyes._

_The angel looked back at his former owner with a torn expression. Zachariah grinned._

_“The ceiling is going to collapse any second. It’s either save me or we all die. Go, Castiel. I know you can’t risk killing her.”_

_“Cas…” Jess said as the crumbling of the ceiling sped up._

_Castiel gave the man one last regretful look before he closed his eyes and clutched Jess to him, disappearing from the spot._

“Cas.” Dean whispered, taking his hand.

“I don’t feel guilty.” Castiel said, looking up at him. “I don’t know if that makes me bad but he was bad. He was horrible and he needed to be taken out of this world. I will never be sorry for what I did.”

Dean leaned in and stroked his cheek as Jess squeezed his hand with her good one.

“Thank you for saving Jess.” He murmured before kissing him softly.

Dean glanced at Sam once he pulled away and smiled slightly.

“So… I’m going to be an uncle?” he asked.

Sam smiled, looking relieved as he nodded and his hand laid protectively over Jess’s stomach.

“All the more reason to get this over with and get those archangels freed. I don’t want my niece or nephew growing up in this world.” Dean decided, patting his brother on the shoulder.

Balthazar sighed, glancing up the stairs.

“I suppose it’s time we go talk to Metatron then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it’s not very long but I am exhausted and I need some good sleep. I’ll write more soon, I promise. I didn’t kill anybody good though! That’s good, right?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Sam meet Metatron. Dean and Cas get closer than they have before. They come to a realization about how to free the archangels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be smut, I’ll put a warning in case you want to skip it.
> 
> *sigh* There’s only one more chapter. I hope you’ve loved reading this as much as I loved writing it. Don’t worry. There will be a very happy, rounded out ending for you.

The room that they walked into was small, filled with only a bed, dresser, and chair as well as a door to the bathroom. A man was sitting in the chair, his head bowed as he scanned the book he was reading. Both Sam and Dean stopped short as Balthazar stepped into the room. Jess and Castiel remained downstairs, choosing to rest instead of going with them to confront Metatron. The man’s head snapped up and he glanced at Balthazar before looking at them questioningly.

“Who are they?” he demanded.

“This is Sam and Dean Winchester.” Balthazar answered, sitting on the bed.

The man studied them closely for a few moments before smirking.

“You were all over the news. You’re wanted.”

“Yeah we know. Who the hell is this?” Dean said, looking at the blonde-haired man.

“This is Metatron.” Balthazar answered.

Both of the Winchesters stared at him questioningly.

“Metatron is supposed to be an angel.” Sam said, frowning.

The man in question let out a bitter laugh as he slammed his book closed.

“You are correct there, Sam. I am supposed to be an angel.” He said, anger tinging his voice.

They looked at Balthazar questioningly, obviously noticing the lack of wings.

“When Metatron was put into slavery just as the other angels and demons, he was sent to a training center as well. It was there that his fellow angels decided to enact revenge on him for his part in their enslavement.” Balthazar said, sounding pained merely by mentioning what happened to the non-angel.

“They ripped the grace out of my body and the wings out of my back. They beat me to a bloody pulp and ensured that I would never be able to retain any grace again.” Metatron said, pulling up his sleeve and standing to show them the scar carved into the skin of his forearm.

It was a sigil, that much was clear.

“Not only am I no longer an angel, I can never be an angel again. However, for some reason, each time my body begins to perish, it magically revives itself and I continue to live in this miserable existence.” He informed them bitterly as he leaned back in his chair.

Dean and Sam exchanged a wary look before looking back at the former angel.

“How do we find the archangels?” the older brother questioned

Metatron wasn’t even surprised, huffing out a laugh as he shook his head.

“I knew that’s why you came here. I knew the second you pulled up in that loud black car. Why would I tell you where they are?” he demanded.

Dean sighed and glared at the man, clenching his jaw.

“Because they’ll be angry.” Sam said, stepping forward.

They all looked at them questioningly.

“The archangels will be angry at you for betraying them. They’ll want to punish you.”

Metatron stared at him with narrowed eyes.

“You’re not helping your case.” He informed the younger Winchester.

“They’ll kill you. They’ll end your life and your suffering. You won’t have to live like this anymore.” Sam said, looking hopeful even as he informed the man that he would be condemning himself to death by helping them.

The former angel considered his words, glancing over at Balthazar who looked stunned and curious to hear Metatron’s answer. He looked back at the Winchesters and smirked, folding his hands in his lap.

“I’m not the only game piece you’ll need, boys. This is going to take a lot of power. Think of the most powerful being on this earth other than the archangels. That’s what you have to do. Find that being and I’ll tell you the rest.”

Dean looked over at Sam who looked back. Balthazar stood and looked Metatron in the face.

“You don’t have to do this.” he offered.

Metatron looked up at Balthazar.

“You’ve been kind to me but you and I both know I don’t deserve it. I just want to be done and this is how it happens. If these two are as good as they think, then who am I to stop them? I’m done fighting.” The former angel sighed.

\------------

Dean walked into the room that Balthazar offered to him. Castiel was facing away from him, sitting on the bed peering out the window. His wings were alternately stretching and folding inward and his legs were criss-crossed. He was wearing fleece pants with no shirt.

“Say what you want about this Balthazar guy, he’s got good decorating taste.” Dean commented, kicking off his shoes and pulling his jacket off.

Castiel didn’t reply but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. Dean walked towards the bed, shedding his shirt as he went and rolling his shoulders. He climbed on behind Cas and kneeled behind him. Castiel arched towards him when he placed his hands on his shoulders.

“Are you hurting?” Dean asked quietly.

Cas shook his head.

“I’m just a little bit sore. My wings are still tender but that is all.”

The human sighed, bending his head to Cas’s shoulder and slowly moving his hands to the angel’s wings. Castiel sighed as he ran his fingers through the feathers, massaging the appendages very softly as he kissed his way up his shoulder to his neck.

“Thank you, for saving everyone. You have no idea…” Dean sighed, shaking his head before continuing up to hover his mouth over Cas’s left ear. “You saved everyone that I care about, including yourself. I will never be able to thank you enough for that.”

Castiel shivered and leaned back into him, his head falling back on his shoulders as his wings relaxed underneath his hands.

“I had to save them. They’re my family. You’re my family.” He murmured, lifting his hand to run through Dean’s hair.

Dean turned his head gently and placed a soft kiss on his lips. Castiel turned his whole body, maneuvering his wings so that he could face him. His hands went to Dean’s face and cradled it as he deepened the kiss. Dean’s hands continued to massage his wings, moving lower to where the appendages sprouted from his back. Castiel gasped into his mouth when his fingers brushed the area where the wings met his skin.

“Do you need to sleep?” Dean whispered, pressing his forehead against Castiel’s forehead.

“No. I-I’m quite awake.” The angel replied, his breath haggard and his body quaking underneath Dean’s touch.

The human smiled and leaned down to kiss him again, his hands sliding into Cas’s hair as he carefully maneuvered the angel onto his back. His lips moved downwards, skimming over his jaw to his ear, where he nipped at the earlobe and nosed into Cas’s hair that still smelled like smoke.

“Do you want to wash off?” he offered, his hands sliding downwards and anchoring onto his hips, his thumbs stroking the prominent hipbones gently.

Castiel could only nod, his body feeling like jelly underneath the other male’s touch. Dean moved backwards, pushing himself up and holding out his hand. Cas took it and they both walked into the huge bathroom. Dean whistled, glancing around with a smirk.

“It is quite impressive.” Castiel admitted, moving towards the shower to turn it on.

Luckily, it was a large shower so he didn’t have to fold his wings in as tightly as he would have to in other showers. The warm water began cascading down from the several nozzles as he turned to Dean. Suddenly their cheeks both tinged with pink as they realized that they were about to strip and shower together. A slight smile from on Dean’s face and he slowly undid his belt and slid it out of his jeans. Castiel followed his example, lowering his head as he unbuttoned the jeans that he was wearing. Dean stepped forward, his jeans hanging low on his hips where they were undone. He put a hand under the angel’s chin and lifted his head, staring deep into his eyes.

“I love you.” he said as if the words were the greatest he’d ever uttered.

Castiel smiled and Dean leaned forward, kissing him softly as he backed him towards the shower. They both kicked their clothing off as they went, neither of them feeling embarrassed anymore as they stood under the warm spray. Castiel leaned his head back into the spray and sighed, his hands sliding into Dean’s hair as the human nuzzled into his neck.

“Let’s get clean.” Dean murmured, stepping away and reaching behind him to grab the soap that was already sitting on the shelf.

They tried and failed to keep their eyes off of each other as they washed up. Once their bodies were washed, they moved onto their hair. Dean finished rinsing the shampoo out first, looking up in time to see Cas leaning back into the water with the soap suds running down his body. Dean stepped forward, his mouth attacking his throat with open-mouthed kisses. Cas sighed and his hands went to Dean’s back, exploring the expanse of skin.

The humans’ hands slid to Cas’s shoulders, his head lifting to look into the angel’s wide blue eyes before he stepped away and his eyes slid over his body. Castiel blushed under his gaze and his wings twitched as if to cover him but Dean suddenly began to explore his skin with his hands. He ran them over his shoulders, slid them across his throat, down to his chest. His thumb found one of his hardened peaks and Cas gasped when he circled it lightly. His other hand drifted lower to his stomach, stroking the skin softly as he stared into Cas’s eyes. Castiel reached out and slid a hand around the back of his neck, slamming their mouths together in a bruising kiss as he pushed Dean against the wall.

**SMUT STARTS HERE**

Their hips crashed together and both of them groaned at the feel of their hardening erections meeting and rubbing against the other. Dean immediately reached down, wrapping his hand around both lengths. Castiel whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut as Dean experimentally slid his hands up and down, effectively stroking both of them at once.

“D-Dean. I c-can’t.” Castiel choked out, his hands squeezing Dean’s shoulders almost too tightly.

Dean looked up at him with confusion and horror and Castiel realized how wrong the words sounded.

“There’s too much glass. If I… if I break anything again it might hurt us here. We can’t do this in here.” He hurried to assure Dean of the reasoning behind his objection.

Dean glanced around and looked relieved, grinning at Cas as he reached out and shut off the water. They stumbled out of the shower. The human didn’t make it far, pressing Castiel against the counter and crashing their lips together again. Castiel sighed into his mouth with exasperation but didn’t push him away, accepting the kiss. His hand fumbled for the drawer and he opened it, remembering what he found before in there when he was exploring the bathroom. Dean heard the noise and glanced down in time to see the small tube that Castiel pulled out.

“Cas… what…” he began, shocked.

“I suppose that Balthazar knew what he was giving us when he supplied this room to you. He is a smart man.” Cas said, holding up the bottle with a slight smile.

Dean looked uncertain.

“Are you… we… we can’t move too fast, Cas. I don’t want to hurt you by rushing this. We don’t have to…”

Castiel cut him off with a finger on his lips.

“I want to, Dean Winchester, so shut up and get us out to the bedroom.” he said, shoving him backwards towards the door.

Dean still looked slightly hesitant but he followed Castiel’s instructions, moving out of the bathroom. He was surprised when they stepped into the bedroom and were suddenly completely dry except for their hair. Castiel pushed Dean back onto the bed, his eyes immediately falling on his naked figure. Dean flushed as he studied him, his hand reaching out to stroke his thigh softly. His muscles quivered and his skin tingled at the angel’s touch.

“Beautiful.” Cas whispered, moving forward.

Before Dean knew it, the angel straddled his lap and their bodies were aligned, their chests pressed together as Castiel kissed him passionately. Dean could hardly keep from crying out at the contact with so much skin on skin. His entire body felt like it was lit up from the inside and Cas was so warm against him, so inviting. Dean’s hands slid down his chest to his sides before coming to rest on his hips. Castiel bucked against him and Dean groaned, his head falling backwards.

“You’re killing me, Cas.” He hissed, aroused almost to the point of pain by the angel’s actions.

“Dean…” Castiel sighed, affected by the need and lust in the human’s voice as he pushed himself up and slid off of him.

Dean sat up and pulled him, kissing him once more as they both went to their knees. Cas’s wings wrapped around him and pulled him in closer, if possible. Dean’s hands drifted down, skimming over the small of Castiel’s back before moving lower. Castiel pulled away and looked him deep in the eyes. Dean froze, taken aback by the trust and love emanating from the angel.

“Cas…” he whispered, lifting one of his hands to drift over his cheek.

“I want you, Dean. Please… I need you.” he murmured, leaning his face into Dean’s hand as his eyes closed.

“I just don’t want to hurt you.” Dean admitted, stroking his thumb over Castiel’s eyelid.

“You won’t. I trust you Dean. You are a good man and I wouldn’t entrust myself to anyone else.”

Dean found himself affected by the words. He leaned in and kissed Castiel before reaching for the bottle of lubricant that was lying on the bed where Cas dropped it. The angel pushed away from him and turned. Dean’s eyes widened when he fell forward onto his hands, his ass lifted in the air.

“I have wanted this for so long, Dean. Ever since I was in heat, you were all that I could think about. You taking me, filling me… fucking me.” Castiel moaned, looking back at Dean, who was shocked and even more turned on by his words.

He couldn’t help but reach out, forgetting about the bottle for a moment as his hand drifted over the soft skin of Cas’s bottom. Castiel shivered underneath him and pushed back into the touch. Dean gently slid his thumb into the cleft of his ass, stroking the sensitive skin there before finding the place that Castiel most wanted him to touch. The angel whined, fighting the urge to push back against the touch. Dean circled the hole softly, not pushing in but simply stroking. He was shocked that, even though there was no lube helping ease the way, Castiel was already relaxing and opening up for him.

“Please, Dean… put it inside. I need you in me.” the angel pleaded, pushing back into his finger.

Dean reluctantly pulled his hand away, silencing Cas’s groan of displeasure with a soft kiss as he leaned forward and turned his face towards him.

“We’re doing this right, Cas. I’m not going to do anything to hurt you, even if it’s by accident.” He said quietly and reassuringly.

Castiel let out a soft sigh and nodded, kissing Dean once more. As he moved backwards to pick up the bottle, he almost dropped it again when the angel reached back, spreading open the flesh of his cheeks. Dean reached down, squeezing the base of his own erection almost painfully so that he wouldn’t come right then and there watching Cas present himself to him.

“Damn, Cas.” He groaned, shaking his head and popping open the cap.

He squeezed a generous amount on his fingers, spreading it around them before reaching forward and sliding his clean hand over Cas’s ass to his hip. He didn’t want Cas to push back onto him. He wanted to take it as slowly as possible and by the way the angel was acting, he wouldn’t be any help at all in that quest. The index finger of his right hand brushed his entrance again and Castiel gasped at the cold feeling of the lubricant. Dean circled the hole, ensuring that it was completely lubricated. Once again, Cas was opening up to him as his body relaxed and the liquid warmed. Dean took a deep breath, steeling himself.

“Tell me if you want me to stop.” He said, his voice rough.

Castiel nodded quickly. As the tip of his finger barely slid in, both of them ceased breathing for a moment. Dean bit his lip as he slid more of the digit in, feeling Cas’s velvety heat surrounding the finger tightly and clenching his other fist at the feeling. The angel sighed and his head dropped as his body quivered at the feeling.

“Are you okay?” Dean asked with uncertainty once his finger was fully inside of him.

“Yes, I’m perfect.” Castiel murmured, his voice as rough as Dean’s. “Move.”

Dean obeyed him, pulling his finger out almost all the way before pushing it back in. Castiel reacted, his breaths coming out in rough gasps as he fought the urge to push back against Dean.

“More, Dean… please.” The angel begged.

Dean took another deep breath before slowly sliding in a second finger along with the first. Castiel moaned wantonly at the feeling. The human carefully maneuvered the fingers in and out as Castiel bucked against them and his hands fisted in the blankets of the bed. Dean almost felt bad for having sex with the angel on Balthazar’s bed but the feeling instantly disappeared when Cas’s muscles clenched down on his fingers. He slowly scissored his fingers, stretching the angel’s tight heat out. Castiel began pleading for more once again and Dean stroked his walls, searching for the spot he knew was there.

When the angel cried out loudly and arched his back as his wings flew out and Dean heard glass cracking behind him, he knew that he found the spot. He grinned and stroked the small bump again, causing Castiel to yell his name and throw his head back, grinding against his hand. Dean slid a third finger into him just to ensure that he was fully stretched for his wider girth.

“Dean, I need you now. Inside of me… all of you.” Castiel groaned, his head falling to the bed and the motion lifted his hips even higher, giving Dean an even better view.

“Now.” The angel growled.

Dean withdrew his fingers and Cas whimpered at the loss. As he quickly applied lubricant to his throbbing length, he saw Castiel fisting his own cock, his hips moving as he thrusted into his hand.

“So impatient.” Dean said, grinning as he pulled Cas’s hips backwards.

The angel lifted himself up onto his hands once again. Dean heaved a long breath before moving to hover over Cas, placing a kiss between his wings.

“Try not to break the whole house.” He said, smirking as he lined his erection up with Cas’s entrance.

He teased it gently, aware of the generous amount of lube as Cas pushed back into him, accepting the blunt head into his tight heat. Dean groaned at the feeling, squeezing the base of his cock once more. Castiel whimpered and tried to push back for more. Dean’s hands shot out to grip his hips and he held the angel in place as he pushed in gently, determined to move slowly as much as his body screamed for him to seat himself inside of Castiel in one quick thrust. Cas was letting out a litany of licentious noises as Dean dropped his head and let out a moan of pleasure. The angel’s heat was surrounding him slowly, taking him in easily as pushed in.

Dean trusted Castiel to tell him if it hurt but he was pretty positive that it wasn’t hurting by the way that he was trying to push back. Cas’s hand stretched back and took one of Dean’s as he slid the last few inches in. Dean leaned forward and allowed Castiel to pull the hand to his mouth. He placed wet, open-mouthed kisses to his palm and wrist as Dean finally seated himself all the way inside of him.

“Fuck, Cas.” Dean groaned, his head falling to rest between the angel’s wings.

“Please move, Dean.” Castiel sighed, still clutching his hand.

Dean steadied himself and slowly pulled out, pushing back in at the same speed. Castiel grunted and rocked back against him, making Dean moan loudly as his muscles clenched down around him. His eyes squeezed shut and he began to slowly thrust in and out, moving faster every few thrusts. Castiel did his part, thrusting back against him eagerly. Dean stilled the angel after a few minutes, holding his hips as he aimed once again for that spot. When he brushed it, he heard shattering behind him as Castiel yelled out, his body shaking. A light sheen of sweat was already covering them both. Dean draped himself over the angel and slowly stroked his shining wings as he moved in and out of Castiel.

After a few more minutes of sharp pleasure and loud moans, Cas pushed against his hips with a hand and Dean pulled out, wondering if he hurt him. Castiel turned around, pushing forward to kiss him roughly as he sat back against the bed. He laid down and Dean watched with wonder as he spread his legs, pulling his knees to his chest. He positioned himself again, sliding inside easier this time. In this position, as he thrusted in and out, he hit Castiel’s prostate each time. He managed to tune out the sound of breaking glass because it wasn’t great to wince very few minutes during sex.

Dean dropped down onto his elbows, kissing Castiel and muffling his sounds of ecstasy as he continued to move in and out of him. He reached between them and took his cock in his hand, pumping it in sync with his thrusts. Castiel bucked and writhed against his, his wings and legs wrapping around him loosely.

“I love you.” Dean murmured against his lips.

“I-I love you t-too.” Castiel stammered, gripping Dean’s shoulders tightly as they both rose higher and higher.

White spots flashed across Dean’s vision and Castiel threw his head back, letting out a loud shout of pleasure as his body thrashed and his back arched. Suddenly a loud cracking noise sounded. Dean and Cas didn’t pay attention, too far gone in their pleasure. In the back of Dean’s mind, he somehow knew that it was a bit too intense and that something was off but he didn’t pay attention to that feeling much. It was only when his wrist began burning hot that he realized something was going on. Castiel seemed to feel it too, his eyes shooting open wide as he looked down at his own wrist.

At that moment, both of them pushed over the edge. Dean’s head fell to Cas’s shoulder as his orgasm pulsed through him and warm seed spilled out of him inside of the angel. Castiel writhed beneath him, waves of pleasure causing him to practically sob as his own seed spilled onto his stomach. Tears formed in both of their eyes as they were overwhelmed with the intensity. Once they came down from their high, Dean slowly pulled out of Castiel and carefully fell onto the bed next to him, making sure that his wing was out of the way before he did so. He wiped his eyes, breathing heavily as he considered the strange yet amazing experience they’d just been through.

**SMUT IS OVER**

“What the hell was that?” he breathed when he finally managed to speak.

“I’ve never experienced anything like that before.” Castiel admitted, just as breathless.

They glanced at each other and Dean couldn’t help but lean in, capturing Cas’s lips gently with his hand laying over his cheek. Castiel’s eyes fluttered open as he pulled away and suddenly he gasped. Dean saw it at the same time, cursing as he pulled his wrist away and stared at the black mark surrounded by angry red skin.

“What the fuck is that?” he demanded.

Castiel stared at it for a few moments before lifting his own wrist to show that the same mark was burned into it.

“I mean seriously… what the fuck?” Dean said, looking at him with wide eyes.

At that moment, they heard hurried footsteps. Dean barely managed to gather the blankets around them to cover their naked lower halves before the door was thrown open. Sam, Jess, Anna, and Balthazar all ran in. They stopped short when they saw them sitting in the middle of the bed with sex hair and shocked looks. That was when Dean and Castiel noticed the state of the room. All of the glass was shattered, including the glass in the bathroom. That wasn’t what really caught their eye. The wall had a giant crack in it that went all the way to the carpeted floor. Chunks of wall were lying on the ground and Balthazar gaped at the damage.

“I can fix it.” Castiel said in a small voice, looking guilty at the mess he caused.

“How the hell did this happen?” Sam said, looking just as surprised by the other two.

“Castiel.” Dean said, glancing at the angel and taking his hand comfortingly.

“You had sex so he destroyed the room?” Balthazar questioned, raising an eyebrow at them.

“Well he’s pretty pow…” Dean cut off, his eyes widening as he realized something.

“Dean?” Jess said, looking concerned at his sudden silence.

Dean looked straight at Sam.

“He’s pretty powerful.” He breathed.

Sam’s eyes widened as well when he knew exactly what Dean was thinking. They both looked at Castiel who was staring back with a confused look.

“Cas we need to get dressed.” Dean murmured, squeezing his hand gently.

“What’s going on?” he questioned.

\------------

“So they just… appeared?” Sam asked, studying Dean’s wrist as they hurried down the hallway.

“Yep. Right at the end.” Dean said, holding Cas’s hand tightly as the angel strode beside him.

Jess, Anna, and Balthazar were behind them.

“Both of you?” Anna asked, sounding concerned.

“Yes.” Castiel answered, holding up his own wrist.

They were both just wearing jeans and t-shirts as well as shoes. When they reached the room, all of them walked in and Metatron looked up from where he was sitting in the chair reading once again.

“I heard the noise. It was… loud.” He said, glancing at Castiel and Anna, more specifically their wings.

“This is the traitor.” Castiel said, glaring at him.

The former angel smirked.

“In the flesh, angel.” He said, spitting out the last word.

Dean put a hand on Cas’s shoulder and stepped forward.

“It’s him.” He said.

Metatron raised an eyebrow at him.

“How do you know?” he asked skeptically.

Dean sighed and reached back for Cas, who slid his hand into his. Metatron sneered at them as the dark-haired angel stepped forward. Dean held out their hands, turning their wrists over for him to see. Suddenly all color and snark drained from his face and he stood slowly, staring at the marks with wide eyes.

“That’s not possible.” He said, reaching out as if to touch them.

Castiel jerked Dean away as well as his own hand, shooting daggers at the former angel with his eyes.

“What is it?” Cas asked coldly.

Dean squeezed his hand gently, soothing him.

“The mark of the chosen ones.” He said, looking up at them. “The Righteous Man and the Sacred Angel.”

They exchanged a look.

“What does that mean?” Dean asked.

“It means that you have the means to free the archangels in this very room. It takes three pieces.” Balthazar said, stepping forward.

They looked over at him.

“You know about it?” Dean asked.

“Metatron told me all about it a long time ago. It was one of the conditions in which he could remain in this house protected by me.” he explained.

“What do you mean, three pieces?” Sam asked.

Balthazar looked first at Metatron before his eyes flickered to Dean and Castiel.

“The Righteous Man, the Sacred Angel, and the Disgraced Traitor.” He said, nodding at the three.

“Tell us more.” Dean said, leaving no room for argument.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pictures of Dean and Cas's room as well as the mark on their wrists for reference.
> 
> http://lady-annabeth-winchester.tumblr.com/post/59543626496/pictures-for-cest-la-mort


	8. Final Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean, Castiel, and Sam travel with Metatron to free the archangels only there's a surprise waiting for them there. They are forced to confront something they never expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who read and commented. You're all amazing.

The four beings all sat around the kitchen table. Sam and Jess were across from Dean and Castiel. Both couples were holding hands. Each of them were staring at the table. Finally, the younger Winchester sighed and looked up.

“Are we really going to do this, Dean?” he asked.

The older brother lifted his head as well and Jess and Cas looked at them.

“Do we have a choice, Sam? I mean, it kind of seems like this was always going to happen.” He said.

Sam scoffed and shook his head.

“You are the last person who ever believes in destiny crap and now you’re saying this was always going to happen?”

Dean held out his wrist.

“Look at this, Sam. This isn’t a coincidence. This isn’t something that anyone could make happen. Metatron didn’t do this. I certainly didn’t do this and neither did Cas.” He argued.

Sam pressed his lips together and sighed again.

“Dean is right. If there really are three pieces destined to bring the archangels back and two of those pieces really are Dean and I, think of the order of events that had to happen. You and Dean had to begin rescuing slaves. You had to rescue them from Zachariah. You had to be at the auction house on that exact day at that exact time. Dean and I had to establish a connection and we had to consummate our relationship. Not to mention how you managed to connect yourself to Balthazar and subsequently Metatron. Everything is falling into place and if that isn’t destiny, how would you explain it?” Castiel asked.

At that moment, another person walked into the room.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

They all turned and Dean’s eyes widened.

“Missouri?” he asked, standing up.

Sam did as well, recognizing the woman and smiling at her.

“I had a feeling you’d need me.” she said, grabbing Dean’s arm as she passed.

Her eyes were on Castiel and she held her hand out.

“Let me see that mark.” She said.

Castiel stood and handed her his hand, allowing her to see the mark on his wrist. She brought Dean’s hand forward and compared them with squinting eyes.

“If someone had told me twenty years ago that John Winchester’s child would be the one to free the angels and demons from their enslavement, I would have slapped them upside the head.” Missouri said, looking up at Dean.

He saw a spark of pride in her eyes.  
“But why me?” he asked with uncertainty. “There are others in this world who feel the same way I do, who want the demons and angels to be freed so why is it me?”

Missouri rolled her eyes and dropped their hands.

“Plenty of others in this world want them to be freed but how many of them do you think actually fell in love with an angel? Even your brother can’t say that though his wife could pass as an angel if it weren’t for the lack of wings. By the way, congratulations to you two. Your baby is going to be beautiful.”

Jess grinned and leaned into Sam as he beamed down at her, both of their faces lighting up with happiness.

“What you got is rare, the first relationship of its kind and that is why it has to be you and it has to be Castiel. The third piece is obvious as there is only one traitor in our midst. Years of the higher ups planning is finally coming to fruition and you boys are smack in the middle of it.” the psychic said knowingly, eyeing Sam and Dean. “I always knew you two would be trouble.”

“What do you mean, years of the higher ups planning?” Dean questioned as they sat back at the table.

Missouri raised an eyebrow at him.

“Castiel, describe the archangels to me.” she said, looking at the angel as he arranged his wings in the chair.

“Archangels are fierce. They’re absolute. They’re heaven’s most terrifying weapon.” He explained as if he was reciting something he’d been taught his entire life.

“Fierce, absolute, terrifying. Now with all that power at their hands, do you really think that they were taken surprise by a rebellious seraph and a few humans with torches and pitchforks?” Missouri said, sounding as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You’re saying that they let themselves be trapped?” Sam asked.

“With good reason too. They had a prophet on their side that spoke of the betrayal of the Disgraced Traitor as well as the plans of the humans. They knew that it had to be done.” She explained.

“Why?” Dean questioned.

“I can’t tell you everything, boy. You gotta figure some things out for yourself. I only came to give you these.”

Missouri lifted a duffle bag and placed it on the table. Dean glanced over at Sam before reaching out and unzipping the bag. As he pulled it open, he immediately recognized the items inside.  
“Missouri I got rid of these.” He said, looking at her with a slightly angry look as he pushed the bag back towards her.

“And I kept them safe for you. You need these.” She argued, sliding it back towards him.

“I promised myself that I would never use any of these and I meant it. It’s not an option.” Dean growled, glaring at her.

“It is your only option, Dean Winchester. Do you think you know better than me? You need these.” Missouri said in a no-nonsense tone.

He huffed and gritted his teeth, sitting back. Castiel reached past him, tentatively sliding the bag towards himself. Dean wanted to stop him but knew he had no right to tell the angel what to do. He watched with a steely gaze as Castiel slowly pulled out the items, realization washing over his face. He placed the three silver blades side-by-side.

“These were your father’s weapons.” He realized, his voice quiet.

“I threw them in the trash as soon as he died. I wanted to be rid of them.” Dean said, shooting Missouri an accusing look.

“And I knew that you would need them one day.” She said simply.

Sam reached forward and picked up one of the blades. Dean didn’t bother to touch one. His eyes flickered over them and he couldn’t help but wonder which one killed Lisa.

“Dean, Missouri is right.” Castiel said in a low voice.

He looked at the dark-haired angel with shock.

“Seriously?”

Castiel sighed and pushed the weapons away with a pained look.

“Even if the archangels have planned for this, we don’t know how they’re going to be when we find them. They might be angry enough to try to kill you. If that’s true, you need to have means to protect yourself. Of course I don’t want you to kill my brethren but I don’t want you to die either.” He explained, taking Dean’s hand in his. “I want you to survive.”

Dean sighed and looked at Sam.

“They’re right. We have to take them just in case.” The younger brother said.

“We?” Dean said, frowning.

“Yeah, we.” he replied, looking at him with a questioning look.  
“You’re not coming.”

Sam looked taken aback before anger flickered over his face.

“The hell I’m not. This is my fight too. We’ve been in this together since the beginning and I’m not letting you go without me.” he argued.

“You have a kid on the way, Sam. Do you really want to risk that child growing up without a father? Be smart about this.” Dean said, trying to convince his brother to stay behind.

“You are my brother, Dean. We’ve gone through our entire lives together and I’m not about to let you do the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done without me.”

“He’s right, Dean. I want him to go with you.” Jess said, supporting her husband.

Dean shook his head and sighed.

“You can’t take this on alone, Dean. These people are here to help you and you need them.” Missouri said.

He glanced around at them.

“We’re leaving in the morning.” He said. “I want to get this done as soon as possible.”

He got up to walk out, the rest knowing that he needed a moment alone. Dean walked out of the back door, moving into the front driveway and sitting on the steps. He sighed and put his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward.

“You’ve got balls.” A voice said behind him.

He turned his head to see the small redheaded demon descending the steps towards him. She plopped down next to him and smiled.

“Alexis, right?” he said.

“Yep.” She replied, crossing her legs at the ankle as she stretched them out.

Dean nodded and turned to look out at the large lawn.

“So you’re in love with an angel.” Alexis said, tapping her hand on her knee.

He glanced at her.

“So are you.”

She smiled and nodded.

“I can’t decide which of us is more daring. The human falling in love with the angel or the demon.” She said.

“Both. We would both be lynched if anyone found us.” He replied.

“You would be lynched without the excuse of being with an angel. The world hates you right now, Winchester.” Alexis said with a smirk.

Dean huffed out a laugh.

“I guess if the world hates me, I must be doing something right.”

Alexis looked over at him.

“We’ll all owe you, you know. You and Sam and Castiel. As soon as we’re free, you’ll have our gratitude.” She said.

Dean looked back at her.

“That won’t stop every single human from despising me and Sam. We’ll be lucky if we can go in public without being ripped apart. We’ll have to go to a deserted island or something.”

Alexis shook her head.

“You’ll have protection.” She said confidently.

“Yeah, if the archangels don’t smite us and the rest of the human race as soon as they’re free.”

“If they smite you, the demons are next.” She reminded him.

He sighed and shook his head.

“So how’d you and the adorable angel get together?” he asked.

“There aren’t many others here. Or there weren’t… I guess. Samandriel and I were the first two that Balthazar rescued. At first we were very distrustful of him. It caused us to become attached to each other when we realized that the other meant us no harm. Eventually, we just… fell.” Alexis shrugged, tossing her red hair over her shoulder. “It’s not quite as romantic as the human who rescues the angel from slavery and falls in love with him.”

Dean flushed and shook his head, moving to stand up. He turned to her and held out his hand.

“It sounds plenty romantic to me.” he said once she was standing.

She grinned at him as he passed to walk back into the building. He found Castiel and Samandriel standing in the entryway talking. Samandriel had a bright look on his face and he was looking at Castiel with an almost adoring look like he was truly looking at his big brother. Castiel had a fond smile on his face and he was nodding at everything the light-haired angel was saying excitedly. They glanced over as Alexis and Dean entered the house.

“I know Castiel from the auction house. He calmed me down when I was first delivered there and assured me that everything would be all right.” Samandriel said, reaching out to take the redhead demon’s hand.

“I recognize him too. He was nice when I was there.” Alexis nodded, leaning into the angel’s side.

Dean walked to Cas and stood behind him, entwining their hands together.

“We should go get some rest. We have a hard day tomorrow.” He whispered.

Castiel nodded, bidding Samadriel and Alexis goodbye. When they entered the room, they saw that most of the glass and chunks of wall had been cleared away. The large crack was still there. Castiel looked around before closing his eyes. Dean saw a bright light emanating from his hand and he closed his eyes in time for the light to engulf the room. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the damage was fixed. Castiel looked triumphant but tired.

“Come on.” Dean said, leading him to the bed.

They stripped down to their boxers before climbing into the bed.

“This will work.” Dean said, pulling Castiel against his chest. “I’m going to free all of you and you’ll never have to worry about enslavement again.”

Castiel sighed, pressing a kiss over his heart.

“I know.”

\------------

There was a somber atmosphere in the house the next morning because everyone knew what Dean, Sam, and Castiel were going to do. The angels and demons that had been living with the Winchesters all gathered in the front yard to watch as they packed up the Impala. Even the few beings that lived Balthazar gathered to watch, including Alexis and Samandriel. Missouri stood with Balthazar and Jess. When they were ready, they saw Metatron drifting out of the house with his head down. All of the angels and demons glared at him as he passed, some of them being held back by others because they knew that he had to be alive to be able to free the archangels.

Dean watched as Sam walked to Jess and embraced her, tucking her head into his shoulder and kissing her forehead. They exchanged a few words and kissed deeply. Tears streamed down Jess’s face but she smiled up at him, stroking his cheek. Her eyes drifted past him to where Dean and Castiel were standing by the car. She beckoned them over and Dean took his angel’s hand before they walked over. She hugged them both, squeezing them before letting go.

“Keep each other safe. Get my boys home.” she said, looking between them.

“We will.” Dean said, nodding.

Jess smiled and patted their shoulders. Dean turned to look at the crowd of angels and demons.

“See you guys on the other side.” He said, waving at them.

They all nodded at him, a few of them looking emotional and all of them looking incredibly grateful.

“You sure you don’t want me to come with?” Balthazar asked as he walked them to the car.

“Nah. You stay here and make sure no one finds them before we can go through with this.” Dean said.

Balthazar nodded before looking at Metatron who was facing away from everyone else.  
“I believe that, despite your past actions, you’re a good man. I only hope that the others give you a second chance. If not…” Balthazar patted the former angel’s shoulder. “… you were a good friend.”

Metatron nodded at him, touching his arm. Balthazar backed away as they climbed into the Impala.

“All right.” Dean sighed, glancing back at Metatron. “Where do we go?”

\------------

Dean pulled up, looking out at the deserted and vast park through the darkness.

“This is where you imprisoned them?” he asked doubtfully.

“The authorities shut the park down only after we imprisoned the archangels here to keep them from being discovred. All of those men have died now and so I am the only one who knows exactly where they are.” Metatron said, looking out at Yellowstone National Park.

Dean shook his head and opened the trunk, handing out flashlights.

“Looks like it’s hiking from here.” He said, hoisting the duffle bag over his shoulder.

“This way.” Metatron said, leading them into the trees.

“What if he is betraying us?” Castiel asked, looking around.

Dean sighed and looked down.  
“Then I don’t know… you look in the guy’s head to figure out where they really are.” He shrugged, murmuring in a low voice.

“Hopefully it does not come to that.” the dark-haired angel said.

They walked for an hour, none of them speaking. Every once in a while, Dean would glance at Sam for confirmation that he was all right. When they neared a clearing, they smelled it.

“We’re here.” Metatron announced, a tremble in his voice making him sound fearful.

Dean looked at Castiel who nodded, following Dean into the large clearing. They immediately saw the circle surrounded by fire.

“What the hell?” Dean said, frowning.

“Eternally burning holy fire to keep the angels trapped.” Metatron said, stepping up beside him.

“How has it not burned down the entire forest?” Sam asked.

“It’s not that kind of fire.” Castiel said solemnly.

Suddenly they saw movement in the darkness. Instead of being behind the circle of fire, it was in front of it. Dean’s hand shot out and grasped Cas’s arm.

“What the hell is that?”

Metatron looked over at them with an innocent look on his face.

“The demons, of course.” He said.

Dean felt a stab of fury and he launched forward, wrapping his hand around Metatron’s throat.

“Where the fuck did the demons come from?” he growled.

The former angel laughed, unperturbed by the threat of strangulation.

“Where do you think the demon leaders went? Back to hell? Oh no, they had to be imprisoned as well.”

Dean looked back at Sam with a wide-eyed glance. The younger Winchester shrugged, stepping towards him.

“Oh Winchesters.” A female voice sang out and Dean staggered away from Metatron at the sound. “Come out, come out… wherever you are!”

Dean looked over at Castiel.

“Hold him.” he said, gesturing to Metatron.

Castiel grasped his arm and yanked him forward as Dean and Sam walked towards the circle.

A woman walked around the circle, her blonde hair gleaming and a smile on her face that was made creepier by the flickering light of the holy fire.

“Oh you are pretty.” She said, tilting her head to the side.

Dean stood on guard, slowly unzipping the bag.

“Have you come to free us?” her voice almost sounded childish despite her grown up figure.

Both he and Sam looked confused, glancing down at what could possible be keeping them from escaping. The holy fire didn’t surround them.

“The ground is saturated with salt. It’s a defense against demons.” The demon said, grinning at them. “So be a gentleman and clear a space for me.”

Dean lifted a silver blade out of the bag and handed it to Sam. Her eyes tracked the movements. He pulled his own and dropped the bag to the ground near Castiel.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

She grinned wider, stepping forward but suddenly she was stopped by an invisible barrier.

“Did you really think that would work?” another voice said.

They all looked as two more demons came around the circle. Both males were wearing smirks as well.

“I thought I would give it a shot.” The woman said.

“You’re a fool, Lilith. These boys are smarter than you give them credit for.” One of the males said.

She looked over at him.

“Their daddy wasn’t smart. That’s what you told me.” she said.

The demon laughed and shrugged.

“Well, I don’t deny that. The man was a fool but his sons are smarter. For humans, that is.”

“How did you know our father?” Dean demanded, knowing that the demons should have been imprisoned long before his father was born.

The same male demon laughed.

“I knew him… and your pretty little mommy.” He said, blinking his eyes.

They saw them flash yellow and both brothers froze, staring at him.

_“I saw the son of a bitch who killed your mother. I saw him clear as day. I can never get those yellow eyes out of my mind. He got what was coming to him. He deserved it.”_

Dean shook his head as his father’s voice echoed through his mind.

“The yellow-eyed demon.” Sam said through gritted teeth.

“You can call me Azazel.” He said, looking thoroughly amused at the pain on their faces. “I owe you two some pain. I escaped the imprisonment but your father caught me and delivered me here along with the authorities. You can pay me back.”

Dean moved forward but Sam and Cas’s hands caught him, stopping him.

“You son of a bitch.” He whispered, his hand gripping the weapon so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

All three demons laughed tauntingly.  
“He’s got spirit. I would love to have him on my rack so that I can rip it right out of him.” the other male said.

“I want him first, Alastair. His eyes are so pretty. I want to claw them out of his skull.” Lilith said, looking thrilled by the idea.

“You aren’t going to touch Dean.” Castiel growled, moving forward while still keeping a firm grip on Metatron who was watching them all converse.

“Oh it’s the angel.” Azazel said, moving around to look him up and down.

“I could take you too, angel. I could rip the feathers out of your wings one by one while you scream for mercy that will never come.” Lilith threatened.

Dean touched Cas’s arm and pulled him behind him while glaring at the demons. They all watched the action and smirked.

“I’ll even let you watch, Dean.” She said, grinning at his protectiveness.

“How do you know who we are?” Sam demanded, getting their attention.

“The angels kept whispering about you, prophecies of the human brothers that would bring the Sacred Angel and the Disgraced Traitor to us. We never believed them… until now.” Alastair said.

“Where’s the fourth one?” Metatron asked, his eyes darting behind them.

“Fourth one?” Dean said.

“There’s another demon here.” He explained.

They looked back at the three demons.

“Crowley is hiding like the coward he is.” Lilith said, rolling her eyes.

Dean looked at Metatron.

“How do we get past them to the archangels?” he asked.

“You have to break the barrier. You won’t be able to get past it without a complicated ritual that you don’t have time for. Then you have to kill them before they escape or they’ll wreak havoc on the world.” The former angel replied.

Castiel leaned over to Dean.

“The blades kill demons too.” He whispered.

Dean looked at him and nodded. He grasped Metatron’s shoulder.

“How do I break the barrier?” he asked.

Metatron glanced down at the blade in his hand.

“Pierce it with the blade. You’ll know it when you feel it.” he said.

He forced the former angel to kneel on the ground, nodding at Castiel to let him go.

“Stay there.” he said, stepping away before turning back to the circle where the demons were watching.

He started forward with the blade as Cas retrieved the third blade from the bag and Sam watched warily.

“Yes.” Lilith hissed, looking thrilled as he approached them.

He suddenly couldn’t move any further, the barrier stopping him. Azazel stepped up and moved as close to him as he could, their faces only inches apart and separated by the barrier.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you slowly. Break the barrier, boy, so that we can begin.” He said, smirking.

Dean glared at him, gripping the blade in his hand.

“Sam now!”

His brother launched forward and drove the blade into the ground where the barrier was. A loud flash filled their eyes and Azazel blinked, stepping backwards with shock. Dean shoved the blade forward, driving it into the demon’s stomach.

“This is for my mom.” he growled, twisting it as Azazel gurgled and stared at him with shock. “Go to hell.”

He pulled the blade out and drove it into his heart. Light flashed through his body several times before he fell back, lifeless. Dean turned his head in time to see Lilith drive her foot into Sam’s face, knocking him onto his back. He saw Alastair dart past him but rushed to his brother’s aid, tackling the blonde demon to the ground. He wrestled around with her for a few moments before flipping them over so that she was on top of him.

“You’re weak.” She said, grinning down at him and trailing a sharp finger down his cheek, cutting into his skin.

“And you’re rusty.” Dean growled, grabbing her shoulders and sending her flying off him.

She staggered backwards and glared at him, moving forward again. Sam launched up, stabbing the blade he was holding between her shoulderblades. Lilith gasped as her body flashed with the same light as Azazel. Her body fell to the ground just as Dean heard a sickening crunch and a howl of pain. He looked over to see Alastair holding Castiel to the ground on his knees. His hand was bending the dark-haired angel’s wing backwards and Dean knew that he broke it.

“Cas!” he shouted, darting forward.

The demon knocked Castiel aside and started forward to meet Dean halfway.

“I’m going to enjoy this.” he said, wrapping a hand around his throat and squeezing.

Dean spluttered as he heard Sam running up behind him. Alastair whirled them around and easily tossed Sam backwards. Suddenly Castiel was standing behind him, a pained look on his face. His hand pressed around into the demon’s forehead. Dean closed as a bright light filled his eyes and he felt Alastair’s grip on his neck loosening. Finally the demon fell backwards onto the ground, his eyes burned out. Dean looked at Castiel with panic and saw that his wing looked fine.

“But… I saw…” he said, reaching for the wing.

“I heal quickly now.” Castiel said, glaring down at the deceased demon.

He looked up at Dean and reached his hand out, touching the red marks on his neck. Dean sighed as he felt the pain disappear. Sam came running up to them out of breath.

“I can’t find the other demon.” He said as Metatron stood up and moved towards them.

Dean looked at him with panic.

“He ran off?” he demanded.

“No, I mean he’s disappeared. I didn’t see any sign that he’d run off.”

“Crowley is not our ultimate concern. He will not be able to get far once the archangels get out. They’ll hunt him down and kill him.” Castiel said, taking Dean’s hand and turning towards the circle.

“What do we do now?” Dean said to Metatron, glancing around at the demons that they’d killed.

The former angel looked over at him.

“This is the hard part.” He said.

They all looked at him with wide eyes.

“This is the hard part?” Sam scoffed.

Metatron nodded and stepped forward. They followed him to the fire, all of them feeling the heat of it. Castiel winced and kept his distance, not wanting it to touch him.

“Sam you’re not needed for this particular part of the ritual.” Metatron said.

The younger Winchester stepped back but still remained close to watch them.

“Our blood has to mingle on the barrier between us and the archangels.” He said.

Dean glanced at Castiel hesitantly before looking at the former angel.

“Give me your hand.” He said.

Metatron held it out and he used the silver blade to slice his palm open. He didn’t wince, turning his hand over to let the blood drip onto the flames. Dean did the same to himself as Cas cut open his own skin. Light and blood escaped from the angel’s wound. They all watched as the blood dripped onto the flames. Suddenly they all turned a bright white color.

“Humana, angelica, ac proditor… justum, sancta, et erubescite… sólveret Archángelis. Michael, Gabriel, Lucifer, Raphael, Raziel, Uriel, Selaphiel, Barachiel.” Metatron spoke in a monotone voice.

They all watched with wide eyes as the flames lit up with an electric blue color before disappearing. There was silence for a moment as they backed away from the blackened circle with other burned lines inside of it.

“That was difficult?” Dean said doubtfully.

“This is.” Metatron said, staring with fear as they saw the eight figures unfolding in the darkness.

They stumbled backwards as the figures turned in sync to face them. Suddenly light filled the clearing that didn’t seem to come from anywhere. The archangels all moved towards the center of the circle, each of them picking up a sword.

“I don’t like this.” Dean said, clutching at Castiel.

The angels moved towards them, all of them lining up and walking with the same rhythm straight towards them. Metatron looked like he was torn between running and remaining there. The archangels stopped about three feet away from them, their eyes hard and their faces emotionless.

“The Disgraced Traitor dares to stand in our midst.” One of them spat, glaring at Metatron, his deep and powerful-sounding voice causing chills to run down Dean’s spine.

“That’s enough, Raphael.” The tallest archangel said in an equally low and powerful voice, staring at Metatron as well. “He has come to accept his punishment.”

Metatron swallowed hard and shifted in his spot. The tall angel reached forward slowly, pressing a hand to his forehead. Dean, Sam, and Castiel all watched with horror as the former angel screeched loudly and light poured out of his eye sockets. He fell to the ground lifeless just as Alastair had after Castiel killed him. Dean clenched Cas’s hand tighter as they turned to look at the archangels with wide eyes.

The shortest one stepped forward, glancing between them all.

“They’re less impressive than I expected.” He said.

They were shocked to see a smirk appear on his face and a sudden teasing glint light up in his eyes.

“Gabriel.” The tall one sighed, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

“What? You told us great things about our saviors, Michael. As it turns out, they’re pretty average looking. Except for you, little brother.” Gabriel said, looking at Castiel. “Don’t worry, you’re pretty.”

Castiel frowned at him, squinting as he wondered what was going on.

“We have been waiting for you for a long time.” Michael said, looking around at them.

Dean glanced between them before swallowing hard and opening his mouth.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” He said simply.

The second-tallest one let out a barking laugh, shocking them all as he stepped forward.

“I like you.” he said, looking Dean up and down.

“Leave him, Lucifer. You know that he belongs with Castiel.” Michael said.

“Oh stop your scolding. I’ve had to listen to it for far too long.” Lucifer shot back.

“You wouldn’t stop whistling for ten years. We all wanted to do more than scold you.” Gabriel said, rolling his eyes.

Before he knew it, Dean let out a laugh. The archangels all looked at him with squinting eyes.

“Sorry, it’s just… you all really do act like brothers.” He said.

A ghost of a smile flickered over Michael’s face before his features blanked out again.

“Your reward for freeing us will come to you. We will free the angels and demons from human control and restore balance to the realms. Heaven and hell will reopen now that we are free and the angels and demons will be free to go back. We will not keep them closed. We trust that these last years of coexisting has brought peace to the angels and the demons that will we have to teach to the humans. All of the angels and demons will have their restored powers now.” He said.

“Great.” Dean said, nodding appreciatively. “Oh wait… that demon, Crowley… he escaped.”

Michael shook his head.

“Do not worry about him. We are aware of his flight and it was intentional. We needed someone to take charge of the demons who would not wage war against us again.” The archangel leader said before looking at Castiel.

The angel stood taller, his wings ruffling as he stood to attention in front of his oldest brother.

“Will you return with us to heaven, brother?” Michael asked.

Castiel hesitated before glancing over at Dean.

“All due respect, brother, but I wish to remain behind on earth.” He said, staring into Dean’s eyes.

“I thought as much.” Michael nodded, stepping forward and holding out his hand. “Might I offer you a lifetime of happiness with your human?”

The dark-haired angel looked at him with shock.

“A lifetime?” he asked.

The archangel nodded.

“Wait… does that mean…” Dean trailed off, wondering if Michael was really offering what he thought he was.

“Castiel can live a lifetime as a human along with you. When he dies, he can have the option of accepting his place as an angel or existing as a soul in heaven along with the human souls.”

Castiel looked at Dean, his eyes searching for something.

“I would like to accept your offer of a lifetime of humanity.” He said, turning back to look at Michael.

The archangel nodded, reaching his hand out.

“I am glad to give it to you, Castiel.” He said, touching his hand to the dark-haired angel’s forehead.

Dean and Sam shielded their eyes as a bright light filled the air once again.

\------------

**Four Years Later**

His body woke slowly, his mind awakening first, his fuzzy conscience feeling the arms wrapped around his torso. He nuzzled back into the other body, still missing the feeling of feathers brushing against his skin. Dean sighed and lifted Cas’s hand, pressing soft kisses into the palm where he had a scar the exact same as Dean’s from the night they freed the archangels. Their wrists still bore the black mark as a reminder of what happened.

“Good morning.” Castiel said sleepily from behind him, nuzzling into his hair as he pulled Dean even closer.

“Good morning.” Dean murmured, slowly turning over to face him.

His eyes fluttered open to show the blue depths that Dean loved staring into. Suddenly the lighter-haired human heard something from outside the door and he smiled slightly.

“How is your shoulder?” Dean asked the other man.

Castiel tested it out, rotating it.

“Still a bit sore but fine. Why?” he asked.

“Because we’re about to get a visit from a little monster.” He whispered.

At that moment the door flew open.

“Uncle Dee! Uncle Cas! I sawed your car an’ I ran here!” a small voice yelled happily.

They both turned to see the blonde-haired little girl scrambling to climb up onto the bed. When she finally made it, she crawled towards them and plopped between them on her back, grinning at them.

“Hey munchkin.” Dean said, patting her stomach as she giggled.

“Hello Allie.” Castiel said, bending down to press a kiss to her forehead.

“Did you get the bad monsters?” she asked, staring between them solemnly, her eyes that matched Jess’s perfectly filled with seriousness.

“We did, little one.” Dean nodded.

She smiled and sat up, pressing a kiss to both of their cheeks.

“You’re good.” Allie decided.

Ever since hell reopened and the demons had been allowed to go back, all manner of creatures had resurfaced that everyone thought were exctinct, vampires, ghouls, ghosts, and monsters of every kind that preyed on humans. Dean and Castiel chose to become hunters, slowly regaining the good will of the world as they saved them from the creatures. Other hunters popped up everywhere, taking the lead of the two.

Dean looked up as Sam and Jess appeared at the door, both of them smiling at their daughter. Jess held their newborn son in her arms.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Allie whispered, scrambling to climb off of the bed to greet them quietly as she knew she had to be when her brother was sleeping.

Sam swung her up into his arms much to her delight.

“How was the hunt?” he asked, walking to the bed as Dean and Castiel sat up, both fully dressed as they’d simply collapsed in the bed when they got home.

“Rough but we got the son of a…” Dean cut off, aware of Allie watching them as Jess sat on the bed as well.

“I’m glad. We have breakfast downstairs in case you want to come eat with us.” She said, bouncing the baby as he made a few cooing noises.

“As long as I can hold my nephew, I’m willing.” Dean said, peeking over at the swaddled baby.

“Of course.” She said, grinning.

“We’ll see you downstairs in a few.” Sam said, helping her up as they turned to walk out of the room.

Dean looked over at Castiel who was staring after them.

“You know, once we get these creatures taken care of, we might be able to adopt one of our own.” he said, nudging him.

Castiel turned to him and beamed.

“I would love that.” he said, leaning in to kiss Dean softly. “And I love you.”

Dean smiled as well and kissed him deeply.

“I love you too.”

They both got up and changed into fresh clothing, walking down the large staircase of the rebuilt home. They walked into the dining hall, smiling around at every angel and demon that greeted them as they passed the several tables brought in there to house the inhabitants of the large home.

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all feedback is welcomed and loved.


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